Voters funded kids’ stadium

This is a response to Dave Black’s letter on April 4, 2021 (“Stadium site should be a no-brainer”).

The Downtown Spokane Partnership says things have changed since the vote on the new stadium a few years ago. What has changed is that the DSP wants to bring a minor league soccer team to Spokane, and they want Spokane Public Schools to pay for their stadium. The funds are actually for a high school sports facility.

Parking. There will be plenty at the current Albi site. I was outside the Arena after the last Garth Brooks concert. What a mess! Imagine what it would be like with simultaneous events at a new stadium, the Arena, the Podium and the Civic Theatre.

There is no guarantee a new downtown stadium would save the school district money. The DSP and Spokane Public Facilities District say that the schools would get free use of the stadium and free parking. For how long? Not long after the Arena was built the PFD tripled rent on high school basketball.

Mr. Black says he would “NEVER” vote for another school levy again if the school board does not pay for the downtown stadium. I suggest that voters look at a levy’s issues and not how angry they were about some other issue.

The DSP has no concrete plans for the Civic Theatre other than eliminating it, according to the picture they have published. Really?

Most important, the voters approved money for a stadium for high school sports — not a minor league soccer team. The money is for kids. The school board should not approve of the downtown stadium.

Tom Armitage

Spokane