Eagles Lodge plans move

A longtime Spokane establishment has some big changes in store.

The Spokane Aerie 2 of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, a nonprofit organization in Spokane for 107 years, broke ground on its $1.2 million building Monday afternoon.

It is also close to completing the sale of the Eagles Ice-A-Rena to Tim Everson and Dennis Miner. The men have worked at the rink, 6321 N. Addison St., for a combined 56 years.

The new lodge is being built on Lidgerwood Street behind the current lodge at 315 E. Francis Ave. near the Fred Meyer store. It been at the Francis address since 1964, but according to Manager Kayla Meeks, the facility “has become a dinosaur to our needs and too expensive.”

The Aerie and Auxiliary 2 (women) membership is about 3,400, after peaking at more than 10,000 members five years ago, when the organization offered a gym, full-size swimming pool, racquetball and other recreational amenities.

The new lodge will be a one-story brick building of 13,000 square feet, which is smaller than the current lodge. It will have a lounge, ballroom, kitchen and a combination banquet/bingo room.

Bernado-Wills of Spokane is the architect, and Dardan Enterprises of Post Falls is the contractor. The lodge sold its building to a private party in December and is leasing it through Tombari Properties.

The new building is scheduled to be finished in October.

The skating rink has been a popular place on the North Side since it was built in 1974. During the peak seasons, the two-rink facility is open from 6 a.m. until midnight, seven days a week.

Miner was hired as a maintenance man and has worked at the rink since it opened. Everson has been the manager since 1980. The men took over the business in January and expect their purchase of the building to be wrapped up within the month. The name will remain the same.

“That’s the nice thing about this, they let us run it to the best of our ability for all those years as if it was ours,” Everson said.

The rink is the home of the Lilac City Figure Skating Club and dozens of recreation leagues. During the weekend of June 3-5, the skating club will stage its biennial ice show at Eagles, where more than 100 local ice skaters will perform in a show.

The Spokane Chiefs also practice there when the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena is unavailable. The minor-league hockey team also plays an exhibition game at Eagles in the fall.

Everson said he and his partner don’t plan to increase prices.

“Eagles Lodge wants this to stay here and be the community,” he said. “We plan to keep things status quo.”