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.HistoryThe 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 11ft and 7,000 seats were added.
