Avista Stadium

• Name: Avista Stadium
• GPS-able Address: 602 North Havana Street, Spokane Valley, WA 99212
• Ballpark Owner: Spokane County
• Architects: Culler, Gale, Martell, & Norrie
• Groundbreaking: 1/9/1958
• Minor League Baseball/Professional Development League Teams: Spokane Indians (A+) 2021-present; Spokane Indians (A-) 1983-2020; Spokane Indians (AAA) 1973-1982; Spokane Indians (A-) 1972; Spokane Indians (AAA) 1958-1971
• Pro Baseball Class/League History: A+/Northwest League 2022-present; A+/High-A West 2021; A-/Northwest League 1983-2020; AAA/Pacific Coast League 1973-1982; A-/Northwest League 1972; AAA/Pacific Coast League 1958-1971
• First Pro Baseball Game: 4/29/1958; stadium debut of Class AAA Indians
• Others Playing or Operating Here: None
• Previous Ballpark Names: Seafirst Stadium 1994-1999; Spokane Indians Baseball Stadium 1958-1993
• LF: 335 CF: 398 RF: 296
• Seats: 6,803
• Stated Capacity: 6,803
• House Baseball/Softball Record Attendance (as currently configured): 6,850, 7/10/2022

Avista Stadium in Spokane Valley, WA, is the home of the Spokane Indians, the Colorado Rockies' High-A Northwest League farm team. Although generally more identified with Spokane, the ballpark lies a few hundred feet into Spokane Valley, WA on the east side of the very street that divides the two cities.

The ballpark opened in 1958 for a Minor League Baseball club the Brooklyn Dodgers bumped when they moved to the West Coast, the original Los Angeles Angels.

The team website's ballpark history calls it Fairgrounds Recreational Park at that point, but contemporary newspapers wrote of Spokane Indians Baseball Stadium. Financial losses drove that franchise to Albuquerque, NM, in 1971. A 1973 replacement was also financially disrupted - by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens - and moved to Las Vegas, NV, in 1982.

The ballpark has aged well, but MLB's 2021 Minor League Reorganization greatly expanded existing standards for stadiums hosting affiliated teams. The Indians initially pledged $2 million and asked Spokane County - which owns the stadium - to fund nearly half of what is projected to be a $22.8 million upgrade. The estimate for the required upgrades was $16 million, but the Indians also wanted fan-oriented improvements including an elevated wrap-around concourse. The county committed $8 million - only if the team matched that - but also quadrupled the Tribe's rent and got the team to take over maintenance and utility costs. While the team and the county were negotiating, the city of Spokane Valley agreed to pony up $2 million. The county approved the team-county agreement on February 21, 2023. The renovations needed to be done by the start of the 2025 season.

In April 2023, the Washington State Legislature approved and Governor Jay Inslee signed a capital construction budget that included money for several Washington baseball stadiums, including $5.8 million toward renovating Avista Stadium.

Immediately after the final regular season home game of the 2024 season, work was started to revamp Avista Stadium, including an entirely new playing surface, expanded dugouts, and padded outfield walls. The Indians were set to participate in the Northwest League Championship Series which began a week-and-a-half later, but the renovation project had to start on time to ensure the venue would be ready by opening day 2025. So the Indians and their opponents (the Vancouver Canadians) had to move the Championship Series' Spokane games to the Patterson Baseball Complex, where the Gonzaga University Bulldogs play their home games. Gonzaga's facility seats far fewer fans that Avista Stadium; only 925 fans attended the clinching Game Four, which the Indians won on a walk-off hit-by-pitch of Kyle Karros.

Even with the renovations, the ballpark has retained some its iconic 1950s feel, and benefits from a beautiful natural setting, with the mountains defining the Spokane valley in full view beyond the outfield. It features only a flat (or almost) seating bowl, with the concourse being outdoors between the gates and the entrance of the bowl. There are no luxury seats to speak of, but lots of signage features the Salish language, in recognition of a partnership between the Squamish tribe and the team (the name Spokane comes from Salish). The park is home to a number of mascots, including an inflatable KC-135 Stratotanker (a refueling tanker aircraft) in honor of nearby Fairchild Air Force Base, a Spokaneausorus (a local dinosaur) named Otto, and a redband trout named Ribby, in honor of a staple food of the local Indian tribes. The outfield seats includes a vintage caboose railroad car that now serves as a restaurant with a view of the playing field and a double-decker coffee bus.

Further Reading

• Benjamin Hill: "This Minor League park is one of the best places to see a game -- anywhere", mlb.com, November 28, 2025. [1]