SPOKANE, Wash. — One Spokane Stadium is less than two weeks away from opening. It will be a much needed change for student athletes at Rogers High School.
"Playing on this field is great and all, but when you play on a turf field, it's just a whole different game," Hartman Warrick, a football player for Rogers High School said.
"Definitely hope there'll be more fans since there'll be more seating and space," Adalayda Rios, a Rogers soccer player said.
There was speculation on whether or not the stadium would be completed on time. But, Spokane Public School says that was never the case.
"When it was planned for downtown we've known that it was going to be opening at the end of September after the start of the season," Ryan Lancaster the media director for Spokane Public Schools said.
Construction first began on the stadium in fall of 2021. It replaced the former Joe Albi stadium that stood in North Spokane for more than 70 years.
"I think our players and coaches are definitely looking forward to the new stadium," Rogers High School Athletic Director Aaron Brecek said. "And being at the center of town and kind of being that center of attention every Friday night."
The Rogers Pirates have the first Friday night football game in the new stadium.
"It's been since 2019 that we've been in a stadium," Brecek said. "That was the last time our football team played at Joe Albi"
So, for many Rogers student athletes like Warrick, it's their first opportunity to play under the stadium lights.
"That's something our seniors we've been wanting to be a part of for a long time," Warrick said. "And now that this new stadium is being built, we get to play our first game in there."
The stadium will hold up to over 5,000 fans during sporting events. It'll also be multi-use. football, soccer and numerous other forms of entertainment will take place at One Spokane Stadium.
Rogers' soccer coach Mike Duke says One Spokane will be a major upgrade to Rogers High School's current facilities.
"It serves its purpose as a soccer pitch, but it's nowhere near what the new stadium is going to bring to us," Duke said.
The stadium will host three professional soccer teams, including the USL League 1 men's team Spokane Velocity FC, a USL Super League women's team and a USL W League pre-professional women's team.
One Spokane Stadium will celebrate a ribbon cutting on September 26. The first sporting event will be a couple of days after that. There will also be a community open house on September 30.
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