SPOKANE, Wash. — After months of moving dirt and pouring concrete, the new downtown stadium is starting to take shape.
James Albi comes to the construction site often.
"Joe Albi was my cousin and I was close to him and he did some wonderful things for Spokane," James said.
The stadium named after his cousin, Joe, was demolished this year.
"I can't go out there, it hurts me too much," James said. "For people that marched there and played football and the concerts that they went to and maybe they met their husband or their wife there, people learned how to drive their cars out there. It's just a good part of Spokane."
But, James fully supports the new stadium and its location. There's just one thing he'd like to see happen.
"He did more for Spokane in sports than anyone has or ever will do," James said. "Joe Albi's name needs to be on this."
Spokane Public Schools and the public facilities district have the naming rights and on Wednesday night, school board members approved a set of criteria in selecting a name and potential sponsor.
The district says based on SPS policy and procedure number 6970, the desired names allowable within the language are "The Spokane Stadium" or "The Downtown Spokane Stadium." Officials say it would also be consistent with other public facilities like the Spokane Arena and the Spokane Convention Center.
The policy says the portions of school facilities may also be named after individuals who have made noteworthy contributions.
"I get the feeling that there's going to be some feelings of ill will if Joe's name is not put on it," James told board members.
"This is not saying that the name of the stadium will or will not include the Joe Albi name but it will be a mutual discussion," board president Mike Weiser said.
Dr. Mark Anderson tells KREM 2 the district and public facilities district want to honor Albi's legacy, possibly with his statue and a plaque. There's also other naming opportunities, such as the plaza, the field or the road next to the stadium.
"This is the beginning of a conversation and the board's approval of this consent agenda item outlines some criteria for the starting point," superintendent Adam Swinyard said.
It's unclear how soon the school board and PFD will be ready to select a name. The stadium is expected to be finished by this fall.
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