Stadium --Rustin Hall, ALCS  Architects

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Hutton Settlement and Arbor Crest: Club 21 has invited our members to join them at 4 p.m., Monday, June 27 for a tour at the Hutton Settlement, 9907 E. Wellesley.  Following the tour, about an hour later, members are invited to the cliff-side Arbor Crest Winery, 4705 N. Fruit Hill Rd.  Club 21 will offer two glasses of wine to those attending.  Spouses are welcome at the events.  You MUST RSVP ahead of time to executivedirector@rotaryspokane.com.

 

 

            Sandy Fink celebrated a gathering of 25 relatives in celebration of her brother’s 90^th birthday Lake Coeur d’Alene cruise.

 

            Steve Bergman celebrated his daughter’s high school graduation.

 

            On the federal holiday to honor Juneteenth Day, Club President Lenore Romney offered this special prayer:

 

            “246 years ago, the independence of our country was declared…but not for all Americans.

 

            87 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, President Abraham Lincoln gave freedom to the slaves through the Emancipation Proclamation, finally giving freedom to all Americans.

 

            And after another 158 years, the freedom of this country from slavery was recognized as the federal holiday Juneteenth.

 

            Opal Lee and DeForest Soaries eloquently remind us that today is really the other half of the Fourth of July. Juneteenth is the day that marks a journey in American history to live by the principles of liberty and freedom for all; and leading to July 4^th – the celebration of our independence from Great Britain.

 

            They suggest that Juneteenth be a day of great unity – a day to renew our commitment to each other to protect freedom for every American. Amen.

 

           On Thursday, June 16th Ron Nobel and Sandy Fink helped Principal, Kale Colyar, award certificates and medallions to students from grades one through six at Holmes.    It was such a rewarding experience to see these students from Holmes who had earned these honors.  Ron and Sandy encourage all Rotarians to participate in one of these assemblies next year -- there are three throughout the year! 

 

                                                                           

 

            In football parlance, it was “an audible.”

 

            After a special election about location, School District 81 planned a smaller stadium to replace the decades-old Joe Albi Stadium in northwest Spokane.

 

            But various players – including business leaders, city leaders and school district leaders -- huddled again about the location and the design.

 

            Despite some criticism about the site, the new playbook developed by ALSC Architects produced a 5,000-seat downtown stadium for high school football and professional soccer.

 

         At the June 20 club meeting, Rustin Hall, ALSC principal, showed slides and a very detailed and impressive cross-section mock-up of the dazzling new plans.

 

            Hall said, “We have a very tight site.”  The new Joe Albi Stadium is squeezed into the former north parking lot between Dean and Boone.  From atop the stadium roof, a deep corner kick or long pass could hit the new Podium and the Civic Theater building.  A long punt might even reach the adjacent Veterans Arena.

 

            But Hall, who has worked with ALSC for 37 years, showed vistas open to the river and a well-designed serpentine promenade from Riverfront Park to the new venue.

 

            While hundreds or a thousand or two attendees mill around the lower section, the upper section, some with seat backs, shows close-up action on the field.   Unlike the Arena, elevators will take stadium patrons to the upper

rows.

 

            The new Albi will provide storage enough to help out the Podium, which needs space to keep concert seating and other amenities across the street.

 

            To try to mitigate some of the stadium cheers for Civic Theater-goers, sound muffling will be added and the theater building will add wall and roof muffling tools.

 

            Parking, already tight with the Podium events, including indoor commencements, will add more challenges, and, Hall said, a mind-set that “we need to learn not to park right at the door” of the various venues.  The surrounding and close by areas offer ample parking for events in the “complex.”

 

            The former Value Village site will offer some more parking and other nearby private parking will be available, he said.  A large drop-off area will accommodate patrons not willing or able to walk distances.

                                                                                                                                                      

            Hall said the new Albi is expandable, designed to double the crowd to 10,000 seats.  For open-air concerts, 5,000 more patrons could be seated on the floor.  The artificial turf for soccer and football, he said, could allow tract runners from the Podium to warm up.  The floor covering from the Podium could be used at Albi to save the turf.

 

            Hall talked about “game-day experiences” and “pre-and-post events” to enhance the events and raise revenues.  He showed VIP suites and open-air landings overlooking downtown. He added there will be “35 points of sales

for merch.”

 

            As staff at KXLY-TV can attest, the blasting continues to deepen the basalt column beneath the stadium.  Opening for the stadium now is planned for March 2024, depending on supply deliveries and other factors.

 

            But the new stadium promises to be a major asset to downtown.  Hall says the stadium “will be the best for high school in the state.”

 

            Among careful attention to detail, light panels can change to show the colors of the teams playing.  And “Joe Fan,” the statue from the former Albi Stadium, will be there overlooking the action at the new Joe.

 

            With this new stadium design, the winning, “goal” is great -- and the new venue scores a “touchdown.”                                                      

         

 

Bulletin editors: Chuck Rehberg and Sandy Fink