Downtown stadium back on the table, as county treasurer urges school board to reconsider
(www.spokesman.com)Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner is urging the Spokane Public Schools board to reconsider its earlier decision to replace aging Joe Albi Stadium at the same site. Baumgartner drafted a letter to the board, claiming that building downtown would save taxpayers $2 million.
There is far more parking in downtown Spokane and within walking distance of the original site than I think most people realize. It pissed me off at the time that there was even discussion of needing an expensive dedicated parking building for a new downtown stadium because that's demonstrably false. Anyone that's ever attended Hoopfest, Bloomsday, or any of the major events near downtown and Riverfront Park have encountered an event with an order of magnitude more people than will attend a typical high school game in the stadium.