A Grip on Sports: It’s always nice when promises come true, especially when it means Spokane will host big events for years to come

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We spent a bit of time yesterday morning wandering around downtown Spokane and we spied two sure signs the Arena was hosting an NCAA regional. The first were the two charter buses sitting out front of the Davenport Tower. The second? All the people on the streets before noon.

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• Many of them, we’re sure, made their way through Riverfront Park – a Chamber of Commerce walk if there ever was one – to the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in time for Texas’ win over Ohio State. And then wandered back after Stanford held off Maryland’s fourth-quarter rally.

But the games themselves aren’t what we are going to focus on in this space, even though we watched quite a bit of the action from the comfort of either the dining-room table or the living-room recliner. Jim Allen and Dave Nichols has that aspect covered.

What we want to delve into is the history of such events in the area and how, for one of the rare times, the politicians who sold Spokane on paying for a new sports facility actually were telling us the truth.

We are old enough to remember when the NCAA tournament came to the Spokane area, it also came with a 90-mile drive to Pullman. That’s as close as the men got back in the day. And why not? Spokane’s largest indoor sporting facilities when we arrived to town in 1983 included the Coliseum, Gonzaga’s Martin Centre and a couple of high school gyms.

That was it.

Beasley Coliseum was the closest thing to a decent, NCAA-ready facility in the Inland Northwest (or the Inland Empire, as the marketing folks called it back then). Three times the NCAA made the trip, with WSU hosting early round men’s games in 1975, 1982 and 1984.

The Coliseum, which opened in 1954, wasn’t big enough (it held 5,400) nor nice enough to get into the rotation. And by the late-1980s, it needed to be replaced. The City Council and the County commissioners formed a facilities district to begin the process of doing just that. The PFD was the first step. But a bond issue was the biggest one. It took a handful of efforts, but a funding formula that included the ability to assess a hotel tax, a sales tax bump and a bond garnered enough yes votes to get the process started.

With money to build the place, a revenue stream to keep it in good repair and a main tenant (the Chiefs), Spokane was on its way to the medium-time in the U.S. sporting world. The Arena opened in 1995.

Those selling the project made some promises. We were promised early round NCAA men’s games. We’ve had a bunch. We were promised regional women’s action. We’ve had a bunch. We were promised concerts, figure skating, rodeos, arena football, state tournaments, WSU games and other events. All the promises have been kept.

Plus, the Arena has been home to high school sports and activities over the years, giving Spokane’s youth an experience different than that offered to the generations that used the Coliseum.

This weekend’s games are so “normal” they don’t seem to move the needle as such events once did. That’s good in a way. But there is also a danger. If such events become too routine and don’t draw well enough, they may not come back.

Is it a big worry? No. Not the way Spokane enjoys such things. And not with the robust system in place to keep attracting new events.

For years to come, it seems,there will be weekends when charter buses and pedestrian traffic crowd downtown. And the Arena hums.

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Gonzaga: What the heck happened Thursday night in San Francisco? Theo Lawson tries to explain how the Zags’ season came to an early halt with the loss to Arkansas. … We have other stories delving into that as well. … The baseball team got back on the winning track with a 6-3 decision at BYU.

WSU: Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, Jon Wilner covers Kelvin Sampson’s WSU career in this S-R-based Q&A, the rest of which ran in the Mercury News. … What the heck happened to Arizona? The Wildcats ran into an under-seeded team in Houston, that’s for sure. They will also lose some of their roster. … UCLA and North Carolina were in a tight battle until the last few minutes. Then the Tar Heels went on a run to eliminate the Bruins, 73-66. Love hurts, that’s for sure. … Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle made two major changes in his coaching staff. … Oregon State and UCLA are still alive in the WNIT. They will also play…. In football news, former Washington State (and Arizona) coach Dave Nichol died yesterday. Nichol, who coached in Pullman and at Mississippi State with Mike Leach, recently joined USC’s staff. He was 45. … It looks as if the Arizona defense is coming together. … USC has a quarterback that reminds Lincoln Riley of Jalen Hurts.

Idaho: Over at the Arena (see above) regional top-seed Stanford dominated Maryland for three quarters. And the Terps fought back, getting close in the (interminably long) final couple minutes. Jim Allen has the particulars of the Cardinal’s 72-66 victory, a victory that didn’t seem to make coach Tara VanDerveer too happy. … Jim also spied former Seahawk quarterback Russell Wilson in the stands, cheering on his sister Anna, the Stanford guard. … The Cardinal will play Texas in Sunday’s Elite Eight game. Dave Nichols has this story on the Longhorns’ win over Ohio State. … Colin Mulvany has photo galleries from the Stanford and Texas wins as well. … There is coverage of Stanford’s win from the Bay Area and elsewhere we can pass along. … The regional rounds are played at neutral sites for the women and men. But the first two rounds for the women have been played at home sites of the top four seeds for a while. Should it change to the same formula as the men, also neutral sites? It’s a tough question.

EWU: The Eagles are losing at least four freshmen basketball players to the transfer portal. Dan Thompson has this story. … Around the Big Sky, Montana State is losing a player to the portal.

Preps: Dave also has a roundup of Friday’s action. … Montana is adding a shot clock in basketball this fall.

Chiefs: The Silvertips continued their domination of Spokane with a 7-2 win in Everett.

Wheelchair basketball: Colin Tiernan has a story on an Eastern Washington team hoping to win a national title next week.

Mariners: Marco Gonzales is ready for the season to start. At least he’s close. … The bullpen was dominant last season. Larry Stone wonders if it can be again.

Seahawks: The Hawks are still mining the free agent market. At least we think so.

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• If you are visiting Spokane for the hoop, yes it always in the low 60s this time of year. And throughout the winter. If you are interested in living here, stop by the house and make me an offer. A couple of million should get a deal done quickly. Until later …