Sports in Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington has a rich sporting culture and the area residents are active in many spectator and participant sports. Although Spokane lacks any major, nationally recognized professional sports team, Spokane has a sports friendly atmosphere, and was recognized and rated #99 in the Sporting News 2006 "99 Best Sporting Cities" list.[1] In 2009, Sports Business Journal rated Spokane as the fifth best minor league sports market in America out of 239 markets.[2]

Main article: Spokane, Washington
The Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena

Spectators may attend sporting events around the Spokane area, including professional and collegiate sporting events. Participants enjoy activities from running the annual Lilac Bloomsday Run and playing in the annual Hoopfest. Spokane is associated as being home to some sports teams that have gained recognition in their respective arenas. Spokane's notable sports teams include the Spokane Chiefs (Western Hockey League), the Spokane Indians (Northwest League) who play their home games in nearby Spokane Valley, the Spokane Shock (Indoor Football League), and the Spokane Shadow (Evergreen Premier League).[3]

Current Teams
Club Sport League Stadium (or Arena)
Spokane Chiefs Ice hockey Western Hockey League (U.S. Division) Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
Spokane Indians Baseball Northwest League (Eastern Division) Avista Stadium
Spokane Shock Indoor American football Indoor Football League Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
Spokane Shadow soccer Evergreen Premier League, National Premier Soccer League Spokane Falls Community College Stadium

The Spokane Chiefs are a junior ice hockey team that play in the Canadian Hockey League's Western Hockey League.[4] They play their home games in the Spokane Arena and have a regional rivalry with the Tri-City Americans. They have won the CHL's top prize, the Memorial Cup, two times in club history, first in 1991 and again in 2008.[4]

The Spokane Indians located in the suburb Spokane Valley, are a Class-A-Short-Season baseball team in the Northwest League (NWL) and have been a farm team of the Texas Rangers since 2003.[5][6] The Indians play their home games at the 6,803-seat Avista Stadium and have won seven NWL titles since their Short-Season-A debut in 1982.[5] Prior to 1982, the Indians played at the Triple-A level. The team achieved considerable success in the early 1970s, winning the Pacific Coast League championship in 1970, and having a 94–52 record.[7] In the 1920s and 1930s the Spokane City League, a semiprofessional baseball league of teams of the Inland Empire, reached its peak.[8]

The Spokane Shock is an indoor football team that competes in the Indoor Football League. The franchise was awarded to the city in August 2005 and initially competed in the AF2 league.[9] The team was quickly placed into the Arena Football League (AFL) after winning championships in two of their four seasons in the Arenafootball2 league. The Shock were crowned AFL champions in their inaugural season after defeating the Tampa Bay Storm 69–57 in ArenaBowl XXIII.[10] After the 2015 season, the owner of the Shock, Nader Naini, decided to have the team leave the AFL to join the Indoor Football League in order to have a geographic rival in the Tri-Cities Fever.

Facilities
Avista Stadium

In 1995, the Spokane Public Facilities District opened Spokane's premier sports venue, the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena to replace the Spokane Coliseum. In the years since Spokane Arena opened, it along with the City of Spokane have played host to major sporting events. The Spokane Indians home venue, Avista Stadium in Spokane Valley.

Places where individuals can take part in amateur sports such as roller blading, ice hockey, ice skating, and skateboarding are available. Pattison's North in north Spokane is where a roller rink can be found,[11] and the Eagles Ice Arena is the only ice rink in the city proper (two others are in Cheney and Coeur d'Alene).[12] The Eagles Ice Arena is where the Spokane Braves junior "B" hockey team of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League play their home games. The City of Spokane Parks and Recreation operate two skateparks, the Hillyard Skateboard Park and the Dwight Merkel Skatepark and are constructing a third in Riverfront Park as part of the ongiong renovations (as of July 2020).[13] The Joe Albi Skatepark is another skatepark in north Spokane that isnt maintained by the city. Motorsport activities and events such as stock car racing are hosted at the Spokane County Raceway which features an oval track, road course and a dragstrip; the facility is operated by Spokane County and is also used by local law enforcement for training purposes.[14]

Hosting major events

In 1995, the Spokane Public Facilities District opened Spokane's premier sports venue, the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena to replace the aging Spokane Coliseum. In the years since the Spokane Arena opened, it along with the city of Spokane have played host to several major sporting events. The first major event the 1998 Memorial Cup, the championship game of the Canadian Hockey League.[15] Four years later in 2002, Spokane hosted the 2002 Skate America figure skating competition,[16] as well as the first two rounds of NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. In 2003 and 2007 the NCAA returned to Spokane with the Division I Men's Tournament, and again in 2008 with the Women's tournament. The Spokane Arena is the perennial host to the State 'B' Basketball Tournament, which brings athletes and fans from across Washington to Spokane. With the split of the 'B' classification in 2006, beginning in 2007 the city was host to the State 2B (the state's second smallest class) Basketball Championships.

With the addition of the Spokane Sportsplex (currently under construction as of August 2020), the city hopes to attract bigger sporting events; the venue has already booked the 2022 National Track Championships.[17] The Sportsplex is designed to be reconfigured to meet a variety of different sporting events and has a six lane, 200-meter indoor hydraulically banked track which can be also hold up to 17 volleyball courts, ten basketball courts or 21 wrestling mats.[18]

2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championship

The biggest sports event hosted in Spokane history was the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.[19] The event set an attendance record, selling nearly 155,000 tickets and passing the previous mark of 125,000 set by the 2002 United States Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles and was later named the Sports Event of the Year by Sports Travel Magazine,[20] beating out notable events, including Super Bowl XLI, among others. Fans, analysts and athletes, including Ice Dancing champion Tanith Belbin, spoke highly of the city's performance as host, which included large, supportive crowds. Spokane was also a candidate city for the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, losing its bid to Los Angeles. On May 5, 2008, it was announced that Spokane would once again host the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 2010—ending eighteen days before the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics games in Vancouver, British Columbia.[19]

Basketball

College basketball
Hoopfest games being played on Spokane Falls Blvd

In sports, Spokane is arguably most notable for being the home of the Gonzaga Bulldogs and their NCAA Division I college basketball program that competes in the West Coast Conference (WCC). Although the WCC is often considered a “mid-major” conference, the Gonzaga basketball program is often considered a major program. Gonzaga regularly makes it to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament which includes an appearance and runner-up finish in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game.[21] They have made it to the tournament every time since Gonzaga's rise to national prominence in their Cinderella run to the Elite 8 in the 1999 tournament. Gonzaga has produced many NBA players, including John Stockton, Frank Burgess Dan Dickau, Richie Frahm, Ronny Turiaf, Austin Daye, Jeremy Pargo, and Adam Morrison.[22] When the college basketball season begins, the Bulldogs regularly sell out their home games in the McCarthey Athletic Center on the Gonzaga University campus, just north of downtown.

Hoopfest

Every June the city hosts Spokane Hoopfest, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, among the largest of its kind.[23] In 2010, there were 428 courts spread throughout the downtown Spokane streets, resulting in over 40 city blocks being inaccessible to vehicles. A very wide range of players are allowed to play from amateurs to elite athletes, as the only requirement is that players must be entering at least the third grade in the fall following Hoopfest. Many teams highlight their individuality and sense of humor in the selection of their team name and team attire.[24] The event however is not just a basketball event, as there is often live music being played in Riverfront Park, along with merchandisers and various food tents. In 2019, during the Hoopfest organization’s 30th anniversary, they launched a community brand, nicknaming Spokane “Hooptown USA”.[25][26] The campaign is supposed to impart the rich basketball culture the community has and their passion for the sport that transcends the game.

Running
The Joy of Running Together is a bronze sculpture that was a gift to the city in honor of the annual Lilac Bloomsday Run

Spokane has a vibrant running culture.[27] The city's location, abundance of parks and trails, close-knit community, high school sport competitiveness, and running tradition and culture make it one of the United States' top exporters of runners.[27]

Bloomsday

The Lilac Bloomsday Run, held in the spring on the first Sunday of May, is a 7.46-mile (12.01 km) race for competitive runners as well as walkers that attracts international competition.[28] The first Bloomsday was organized by Don Kardong in 1977 and drew a crowd of 1,200 people.[29] A Junior Bloomsday course of 1.25-mile (2.01 km) is held at the Interstate Fairgrounds. The number of finishers in 2015 was 43,206.[30] Every finisher of the race receives a Bloomsday T-shirt.

See also

References
  1. "Spokane Bragging Rights". Spokane Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  2. "Rochester picked as top 10 sports market". Buffalo Business First. 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  3. "Recreation & Sports". Experience Spokane. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  4. "Spokane Chiefs win Memorial Cup". CBC. May 25, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  5. Blanchette, John (June 15, 2008). "Jewel on Havana Street". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  6. "Texas Rangers Affiliation". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  7. "1970 PCL Championship Team". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  8. Popejoy (2010), p.127
  9. Trimmer, Dave (August 27, 2005). "Spokane awarded arenafootball2 franchise". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  10. Meehan, Jim (August 20, 2010). "Spokane Shock are AFL champions". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  11. Davenport, Paula M. (November 15, 2006). "Career comes full circle". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  12. Maben, Scott (January 31, 2017). "Three Spokane skating groups buy Eagles Ice Arena". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  13. "Skate Parks". City of Spokane Parks and Recreation. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  14. Edelen, Amy (December 11, 2018). "Spokane County commissioners approve new lease agreement with raceway operator". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  15. Knight, Stephen (1998-05-08). "1998 Memorial Cup Notebook". Canoe Inc. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
  16. "2002 Smart Ones Skate America". U.S. Figure Skating. 2002-10-27. Archived from the original on 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
  17. Hill, Kip (December 11, 2019). "Sportsplex to host 2022 national track championships, supporters announce at groundbreaking". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  18. Walters, Daniel (August 15, 2019). "The Spokane Public Facilities District keeps vaulting over obstacles while running toward the dream of a Sportsplex. Will it be worth it?". INLANDER. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  19. "Spokane, Wash., Selected to Host 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships". U.S. Figure Skating. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  20. "2007 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships named "Sports Event of the Year"". KHQ. WorldNow and KHQ. 2007-10-27. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  21. "NCAA Basketball Tournament History". ESPN. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  22. Deitrick, Hayden (June 19, 2014). "Gonzaga Basketball: The Biggest NBA Success Stories in Bulldogs History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  23. "A History: 1990–present". Spokane Hoopfest Association. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  24. Hammett, Caroline (June 24, 2017). "What's in a name: Puns infiltrate Hoopfest 2017". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  25. Oliver, Emily (June 26, 2019). "Introducing: Hooptown USA". KXLY. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  26. Curley, Rob (June 24, 2019). "Rob Curley: Hooptown nickname fits Spokane in so many ways". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  27. Devine, Dave. "Spokane, WA: American Rift Valley?". ESPN RISE. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  28. "History". Lilac Bloomsday Association. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  29. Schmeltzer, Michael (1988). Spokane: The City and The People. American Geographic Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 0-938314-53-X.
  30. . BloomsdayRun.org. Retrieved on 2015-09-21.
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