Concession building at Avista Stadium, home of the Spokane Indians, ‘complete loss’ in fire

Less than a week after its final use of the Spokane Indians’ season, the Avista Stadium’s main concession building was destroyed by fire early Friday.

Crews responded around 2:45 a.m. to the concession building west of the stadium to flames billowing out of the roof, Spokane Valley Fire Department Battalion Chief Sean Barrett said at the scene.

The building is a “complete loss,” he said.

Crews entered the building initially but pulled out for safety reasons since it was unlikely anyone was inside, Barrett said.

Spokane and Spokane Valley fire departments were called to the scene, and responders arrived six minutes after receiving the 911 call, according to Travis Patterson, Spokane Valley Fire spokesman. The fire was contained to the concession building, and there was no damage to any other part of the stadium, which is owned by Spokane County. There were no injuries.

The Spokane County Interstate Fair opens Friday. The fire won’t affect the opening of the fair, said Erin Gurtel, director of the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center. The parking lot west of the stadium likely will be closed all day, but the larger lots north and south of the stadium will be open as scheduled, and Havana Street reopened before 8 a.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Patterson indicated that the fire was contained by late morning on Friday, but hot spots lingered, and investigators had not been able to enter the structure by midday. The department used drones around the building on Friday as part of the initial investigation.

“They don’t have access to the inside due to the structural integrity of the building,” Patterson said, “so they’re waiting for a structural engineer and some equipment to get out here before they can get in.”

The Indians completed their home season on Sunday.

“It’s not the way we want to start the off-season,” team president Chris Duff said. “But the fortunate thing is, there was no one in the building at the time. … It was a great response from both the City of Spokane Valley and City of Spokane working together to get the blaze out as quickly as possible, and we’re already working closely with the county and other partners to work on the rebuild process for 2026.”

Duff indicated that many of the team’s corporate and government partners and sponsors were either on site throughout the morning or have reached out with words of support.

“Every partner that we’ve talked to is committed to helping us through this,” he said. “The support we’ve received has been overwhelming, and the timeline that everyone has set is opening day of 2026, so I feel confident that we’ve got a great team that’s already in motion, and they will work as efficiently as they can to get the project done in that time frame.”

Spokane County Commissioner Mary Kuney told a gathering of elected leaders that Spokane County will rebuild.

“It’s a huge loss,” she said at a previously scheduled meeting of the council of governments adjacent to the fire within the Spokane County Fairgrounds and Expo Center. “The season opens April 1, and we hope to be ready to go by April 1. We’ll do everything we can in our powers to make that happen.”

Duff said the emotional toll on him and other Indians staff – many of whom gathered at the ballpark in the aftermath – was “devastating.”

“Something like this – you put your whole heart and soul into everything you do here, and to see it literally go up in flames – it’s tough to take. … I just finished my 24th season, and I feel a personal connection to every building at the ballpark I’ve been a part of building or renovating. It’s a lot to take in right now.”

According to Duff, there were “tens of thousands” of dollars’ worth of consumable product in the building and an unknown amount of point-of-sale electronics, food and beverage equipment and other inventory. While there are other smaller concession stands throughout the park, “90%” of all food sold at the park goes through the main concession building, which Duff called “the heartbeat of the entire concession operation.”

“The county owns the facility. A lot of the contents inside are the Spokane Indians’,” Duff said. “Navigating exactly what was in that building, you know, will be a process. But working with the county, I’m confident in the team that they have in place.”

Kyle Day, general manager of the Spokane Indians, was the first team administrator on the scene. Day received a call from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office operator at 2:58 a.m. and got to the stadium as quickly as he could to find it “engulfed, is the right word to describe it.”

“Obviously, you’re kind of racking your brain on how it could have happened and just hoping that there were no injuries or anyone hurt, or anything like that. I think those were the first couple thoughts through my head.”

He said the concession building – which was not part of the recent major renovations at the ballpark – was constructed in time for the 2013 season.

“We will collect ourselves here and start planning how we rebuild and get ready for next season,” Day said. “It’s going to be a big undertaking. It’s a hugely important piece of the game day experience when you come to Avista Stadium.”