Downtown stadium plan gets heavy support in public hearings

The sample size was rather small, but Spokane Public Schools officials and school board members heard overwhelming support this week for a downtown stadium.

During a pair of 2-hour virtual forums Tuesday and Wednesday night, a strong majority of citizens urged the board to approve a proposal to build a new sports stadium near the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena and not at the current Albi site.

The leadoff speaker on Tuesday night, Angela Sweinseid of Spokane, set the tone for the evening.

“It’s a better choice for everyone,” said Swenseid, who said there were longterm savings for the district and flaws in a 2018 advisory vote that favored the Albi site.

That vote has remained the biggest obstacle as the board weighs a proposal that surfaced only two weeks ago from the Downtown Spokane Partnership.

According to a survey commissioned by the DSP, the new stadium would add $11.4 million annually in economic impact, boost the downtown economy and offer a more central location for athletes and fans.

However, voters in 2018 strongly preferred the Albi site in Northwest Spokane for the new $31 million stadium, which is funded by a school district capital bond approved in that same election.

Still, much has changed since then, the district has acknowledged – enough to warrant reopening the issue to public comment.

On Friday, the district launched a ThoughtExchange, an in-depth online survey intended to learn why respondents feel a particular way on a subject. That survey is ongoing.

The public forums were meant to give citizens some face time with the board and district officials. Together, the two forums drew comments from about 50 people, several of them school employees.

After collecting input, the board is expected to address the issue in a regular board meeting later this month or in early April. If it elects to build downtown, it would abandon the Albi project.

Both forums attracted heavy support for the downtown option.

Steve McNutt, a Spokane resident for 45 years, said he felt that the $31 million would be better spent downtown rather than for a handful of high school sports events at Albi.

“It also produces a higher and better use of public land,” said McNutt, who added that the district would “save institutional energy” by focusing on education rather than the maintenance and operation of a sports facility.

Because a downtown facility would be operated by the Spokane Public Facilities District and not the school district, the latter is expected to save about $350,000 annually in operations costs by abandoning the Albi project.

Other speakers urged the board to consider the boost to the local economy and youth sports, the greater accessibility of the downtown site and the opportunity to attract a professional soccer team.

Spokane resident Thomas McNeiece said he was thinking of his two young daughters when he heard about the proposal.

“How impactful will that be for them, playing under the same lights as a professional soccer team,” McNeiece said. “This is a win for business, and a win for the environment.”

Because the downtowns site is served by more bus lines, fewer cars are expected at that location.

That’s also an equity issue, according to Spokane resident Alli Kingfisher.

“It’s more important than ever to provide equitable access,” said Kingfisher, who lives in the West Central neighborhood. “Many families don’t have access to food, much less to cars.”

“We need more accessibility,” Kingfisher said.

Not everyone favored the downtown site.

Spokane resident Byron Potter said that with the Arena and the new Podium sports facility, the area can’t absorb another major facility.

Another resident, Jamie Sciarrio, worried about noise pollution from a new stadium, especially during performances at the adjacent Spokane Civic Theater.

“How will you control the noise?” Sciarrio said. “Patrons would be horrified,” she said if stadium noises penetrated the walls of the theater during a show.

Sciarrio noted that there are ways to mitigate those sounds, but urged backers to examine the potential costs.

“Please don’t ignore us,” Sciarrio said.