Monsters of Rock concert at Albi Stadium will not be held this year after plan ‘gradually went away’

For the second time in as many years, the pandemic has derailed plans to reprise the legendary Monsters of Rock concert at Albi Stadium.

“It sort of gradually went away,” Justin Kobluk, president of West Coast Entertainment, said Wednesday.

Proposed for late summer at Albi Stadium, the concert was expected to draw tens of thousands of fans and be livestreamed around the world.

Originally proposed for last year, the idea was quickly quashed by COVID-19. It was revived earlier this year, as Kobluk and his team asked the Spokane school board to hold off on demolishing Albi until August.

Uncertainties over COVID restrictions, however, made some potential performers wary.

Prospects brightened briefly when the downtown stadium proposal was floated in March as an alternative to Albi. That would have bought promoters more time to see if restrictions would be eased.

As it turned out, a concert is now feasible. But there’s no time to put it all together.

“There were always ideas percolating, artists throwing out different ideas, but when it came down to it, it couldn’t be thrown together in a month,” Kobluk said.

“It’s too bad, because we all wanted this to happen,” Kobluk said.

It still might, though not this year and not at Albi. Kobluk said he’s encouraged by what’s happening on the north bank of the Spokane River.

Between the Arena, the downtown stadium and the almost-completed Podium, there’s a lot of potential for a large outdoor event, he said.

“Those ideas will continue in the future,” Kobluk said. “We’ve been in close contact with all these artists; it might not be Monsters, but it could be something else.”