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Spokane Youth Sports abandons Glenrose sports complex, backing schools and parks tax measure instead

Multiple new sports fields are proposed for Ferris High School, according to this rendering of projects that part of the “Together Spokane” tax proposals on the November ballot. The Spokane Youth Sports Association announced on Wednesday that it will abandon its plans to build a sports complex at Glenrose and instead invest in projects that would be paid for by the Spokane Public Schools bond or Spokane parks levy. (Courtesy)
By Emily White emilyw@spokesman.com(509) 459-5444

After 15 years of work, the Spokane Youth Sports Association is abandoning its proposal to build a sports complex on the Glenrose Prairie.

Instead, SYSA is committed to supporting the Together Spokane effort, which includes a $200 million Spokane Public Schools bond and a $240 million levy for Spokane Parks and Recreation on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Ben Walker, executive director of SYSA, said the schools and parks measures that voters will decide in November would draw investment from the sports association to bring all-weather sports fields to Spokane.

“We see this as an opportunity, not only to collaborate, but to bring field space and opportunities for kids to play more,” Walker said.

The SYSA plans for 37th Avenue and Glenrose Road had been envisioned as a 20-acre complex that would have included four baseball fields, two multisports fields, a basketball court with a parking lot, storage facilities and bathrooms. But it ran into resistance from the historically rural neighborhood amid concerns about noise and traffic that became a long legal battle.

Walker would not provide a dollar amount that SYSA planned on investing in the projects if they are passed in November. It is possible that SYSA will sell the Glenrose land, and if they do, some of that money could go into the organization’s investment in Together Spokane, Walker said.

The projects, if passed in the November election, would feature several refurbishments, including 15 all-weather fields across the school district and additional fields at Ferris High School on the South Hill near the Glenrose property, and the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex in Northwest Spokane.

All-weather fields have synthetic turf, which makes it easy to clear snow so players can compete during colder weather, said Garrett Jones, the director of Spokane Parks and Recreation.

Plans at Ferris High School include three all-weather rectangular fields and one baseball field. Merkel Sports Complex would also be expanded with eight new lighted rectangular fields if the district and parks bids are passed. Three of those fields would be turf, not grass.

If the bids are passed, SYSA will provide capital investment for field development, which will lower project costs for taxpayers and give SYSA a priority to use fields when not in use by school district students.

Building its own sports complex is also not out of the question, Walker said. If an ideal property became available, SYSA would be interested in purchasing and developing a sports complex. The organization’s plans for Glenrose simply didn’t work out because of legal challenges, Walker said.

The Glenrose complex was meant to bring more sports fields to kids who live in south Spokane. Walker says the Together Spokane initiative will do just that.

“I understand that the Together Spokane initiative means more taxes for our community, and that’s difficult to swallow and afford, and that’s real,” Walker said. “What I don’t think we can afford to do, however, is wait to provide these opportunities to kids and to match their desire to get out and be active.”