SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Public Schools has an update on the new downtown stadium. Construction on the stadium started in the Fall of 2021 and is expected to continue through September of 2023.
There has been some controversy over the building’s location. Voters said they wanted to keep it at the Joe Albi site, but the district decided downtown would be a better spot for Spokane students.
“One of the things that was important to our school board was that we create better access for all of our students, lower income or higher income, and this middle location is really really important to us. Many of our high school students can walk to this site,” said Greg Forsyth, Director of Capital Projects for the School District.
Despite controversy about its location, the new site will be central for Spokane students. New additions to the stadium include extra LED lighting and a large interactive scoreboard.
The new stadium will actually seat fewer people than Joe Albi, the reasoning for this being that Albi would have a lot of empty seats due to its size.
They say the smaller stadium will give student-athletes a better crowd for at-home games.
“We all know the more stands, more people we have in the stands, the more excitement that generates and the more energy, really we want that energy for our high school athletes,” Forsyth said. “That was one things that was missing quite honestly at the old Joe Albi. It was a 28,000 seat stadium at which at times we would have as few as a thousand people and there wasn’t a lot of energy for our student-athletes.”
The Spokane public facilities district will be in charge of upkeep for the new stadium. That will save the school district over $21 million.
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