‘ONE Spokane’: Downtown sports stadium name approved by school officials Wednesday

The $37.9 million outdoor sports stadium taking shape in downtown has its new name.

The Spokane Public School Board of Directors voted unanimously on Wednesday to name the structure the “ONE Spokane Stadium,” ending several months of deliberations and granting the replacement for Joe Albi Stadium a moniker in time for its planned opening in September.

The latest option to name the facility, approved for construction as part of a 2018 bond measure approved by voters in the school district, was forwarded by the Spokane Public Facilities District. The facilities and school district agreed in May 2021 to partner on construction of the Joe Albi replacement downtown, an agreement that requires both entities to approve a name and sponsor for the facility.

An earlier proposal, which would have named the facility “The North Bank Stadium Presented by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians” as part of a sponsorship agreement with the tribe, was rejected by the school board in April.

The Spokane Tribe of Indians expressed frustration to both the Public Facilities District and school board at the time that they were not involved in talks about naming the structure, which is being built near the ancestral fishing grounds of the Spokane people.

The district then included tribal representatives in discussions surrounding the name.

“I do appreciate the work to try to touch bases and do that tribal consultation as we requested with the local native organizations and also the tribal entities,” said School Board Vice President Nikki Lockwood. “I want to thank the (facilities district) for that.”

One of the school district’s priorities in these discussions was that the stadium have “Spokane” in the name.

Marty Dickinson, chair of the Public Facilities District that also operates Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, the Podium and the First Interstate Center for the Arts, said the “ONE Spokane Stadium” name resulted from talks with the school district and the ownership group of the United Soccer League franchise that will play its home games at the new stadium.

“This ‘ONE Spokane Stadium’ name resonated with what each body was trying to accomplish,” she said.

The “ONE” in the name is capitalized intentionally, to emphasize unity among student athletes from all Spokane schools, the multiple entities involved in the naming process and the tribes that live on and near the land.

“I also like ‘ONE Spokane.’ It has Spokane’s name, which I think reflects our community and how new Spokane is diverse and the school district is diverse,” Lockwood said. “But we want this stadium to be used by everybody, and so there’s going to be a lot of uses for it.”

Per their agreement, the school district has priority in using the stadium, but the facilities district can use the stadium for professional sports and other events to generate revenue for facility operations.

The naming proposal does not include a sponsorship agreement. Dickinson said the Public Facilities District, which worked with STCU on branding for the Podium indoor sports facility across the street, and the ownership group will be able to begin talks with potential sponsors now that the building is named.

“What we believe we need to have as (the public facilities district) is to be able to truly market this stadium in a way that that this can be sustained for years to come,” she said. The facilities district is responsible for maintenance and operation costs of the facility, according to their agreement with the school district.

She said she hoped discussions would continue to include the Kalispel tribe, which has indicated to the public facilities district that it did not want the phrase “Powered by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians” in the stadium name, according to a letter from Stephanie Curran, the district’s chief executive, to the school board on June 29.

A spokeswoman for the Kalispel tribe did not respond to a request for comment on the naming talks on Wednesday.

Once the facilities district selects a sponsor for the stadium, the school board will have to approve of this selection.

“It seems like we’re on a path that will still lead to sponsorship, but solidifies a name that seems to align quite well with our guidelines for naming,” school board President Mike Wiser said.

Dickinson said the stadium is on track to open for events this fall. A ribbon-cutting is planned for the end of September.

The school board has already approved designs for the stadium that will include a plaza honoring Joe Albi that will include a display plaque and the statute of Albi that was located in the old stadium. They’ve also thrown their support behind naming the portion of West Dean Avenue between Washington and Howard streets to “Joe Albi Way.”