Joe Albi Stadium
New FieldTurf in October 2006
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| Former names | Memorial Stadium (1950–1962) |
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| Location | 4918 W. Everett Ave. Spokane, Washington |
| Coordinates | 47°42′18″N 117°28′59″W / 47.705°N 117.483°WCoordinates: 47°42′18″N 117°28′59″W / 47.705°N 117.483°W |
| Owner | City of Spokane |
| Capacity | 28,646 (1996– ) 35,000 (1962–1995) 25,000 (1950–1961) |
| Surface |
FieldTurf (2006– ) AstroTurf (1970–2005) Natural grass (1950–1969) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | April 26, 1950 |
| Opened | September 15, 1950 67 years ago |
| Renovated | 1996 - field raised and widened for soccer, lower seating removed |
| Expanded | 1962 - field lowered, lower seating added |
| Construction cost | $496,558 |
| Structural engineer | Moffat, Nichol, & Taylor |
| Main contractors | McInnis and Henry George & Sons |
| Tenants | |
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Washington State Cougars (1950–1983) Eastern Washington Eagles (1965-1966, 1983-1989) Spokane Shadow (PDL) (1996–2005) Spokane Spiders (PDL) (2010) Spokane Black Widows (WPSL) (2010) Spokane Shock (AFL) (2011) Spokane Shine (WPSL) (2011-present) |
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Joe Albi Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium located in Spokane, Washington. Opened in 1950 and primarily used for high school football, it is located in the northwest part of the city, just east of the Spokane River.
The stadium is located on the former site of the Baxter hospital reservation of the U.S. Army. Built in less than four months in 1950, it opened as "Spokane Memorial Stadium" on September 15 with high school football. The name was selected through a newspaper contest and adopted by the city council in July. Its original grass field was taken from the lush sod of the parade grounds at historic Fort George Wright, south of the stadium. The venue had a seating capacity of 25,000 and did not have a running track; city track continued at Hart Field in south Spokane.
The first manager of the stadium was Fred Bohler, the former coach and athletic director at Washington State College in Pullman. In 1954, it was considered as a potential minor league baseball venue; Indians Stadium (now Avista Stadium) opened in 1958.
Memorial Stadium was renamed in the spring of 1962 for attorney Joseph A. Albi (1892–1962), a local sports booster who led the efforts to fund and construct it. That summer, the field level was lowered by 11 feet (3.4 m) and 7,000 seats were added.
AstroTurf was first installed in 1970, and was replaced with SuperTurf in 1979 and 1984. The playing surface was altered for professional soccer in 1996, essentially undoing the lowering project of 1962. The field level was raised 6.5 feet (2.0 m) and the width of the new artificial turf was extended to 250 feet (76 m), formerly at 191 feet (58 m), and seating was removed. The field was changed a decade later to infilled FieldTurf in 2006.
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