Sports in Spokane, Washington
[6][7] The Indians play their home games at the 6,803-seat Avista Stadium and have won seven NWL titles since their Short-Season-A debut in 1982.
The team achieved considerable success in the early 1970s, winning the Pacific Coast League championship in 1970, and having a 94–52 record.
Gonzaga sponsors baseball, basketball, cross Country, golf, rowing, soccer, tennis, and indoor and outdoor track and field for men and basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, and volleyball for women.
[12] In sports media, Spokane is arguably most notable for being the home of the Gonzaga Bulldogs and their NCAA Division I men's basketball program that competes in the West Coast Conference (WCC).
Gonzaga regularly makes it to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament which includes an appearance and runner-up finish in the 2017 and 2021 championship games.
Gonzaga has produced many NBA players, including John Stockton, Frank Burgess, Dan Dickau, Richie Frahm, Ronny Turiaf, Austin Daye, Jeremy Pargo, and Adam Morrison.
[14] When the college basketball season begins, the Bulldogs regularly sell out their home games in the McCarthey Athletic Center on the Gonzaga University campus, just north of downtown.
[16] A new 5,000-seat stadium for Spokane Public Schools athletics is planned for a lot next to The Podium, and is expected to also be the home ground of a USL League One soccer team.
With the addition of The Podium, the city hopes to attract bigger sporting events; the venue has already booked the 2022 National Track Championships.
Spokane was also a candidate city for the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, losing its bid to Los Angeles.
Figure Skating Championships in 2010—ending eighteen days before the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics games in Vancouver, British Columbia.
[25][26] The campaign is supposed to impart the rich basketball culture the community has and their passion for the sport that transcends the game.
[27] The city's location, abundance of parks and trails, close-knit community, high school sport competitiveness, and running tradition and culture make it one of the United States' top exporters of runners.
[27] Bloomsday is the most well attended running event in the area; there is also the Coeur d'Alene marathon which is held annually at the end of May on the North Idaho Centennial Trail.
[34] Riders of varying degrees of experience start in the Kendall Yards neighborhood and can choose to do a 9-mile (14 km), 21-mile (34 km), or 50-mile (80 km) "half century" route; The 21-mile route takes cyclists south across the Monroe Street Bridge then west through Browns Addition and north on Government Way and onto the Centennial Trail before reaching Riverside State Park and crossing the 7 Mile Bridge to go back south on Aubrey and L. White Parkway and Pettit Drive to finish at the top of the Spokane Falls whereas the 9-mile route takes a shortcut over the Downriver Bridge before going south and the half century route adds an additional 29-mile loop that travels through Riverside State Park before crossing the 7 Mile Bridge to travel southward back to the start.
[44][45] The Athletic Round Table headed by Joe Albi organized the tournament events held in the city in the 1940s.
[48] The most notable courses include the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course with its unique 14th hole floating green, Circling Raven Golf Club at the Coeur d'Alene Casino resort in Worley, and the private Tom Fazio-designed Gozzer Ranch near Eddyville, Idaho.
Some of the most popular are not far from the city such as the Bowl and Pitcher in Riverside State Park, the Rocks of Sharon in the Iller Creek Conservation Area, Kit Carson Trail in Mount Spokane State Park, and the Mineral Ridge National Recreation Trail east of Coeur d'Alene.
The Mineral Ridge National Scenic Trail east of Lake Coeur d'Alene is a Bureau of Land Management maintained 3.3-mile interpretive trail that showcases Lake vistas of Beauty Bay and Wolf Lodge Bay, it is popular among bird watchers during the winter who wish to see bald eagles.
[55] Spokane has 76 lakes for outdoor sports and recreation such as wake boarding, paddleboarding, sailing, parasailing, jet skiing, kayaking, and fishing.
[56][57] The Spokane River has stretches of its waters suitable for rafting, the most difficult rapids being class III and IV.
The park has eight zip lines, the longest being the 3,500-foot (1,100 m) "Big Mama", which traverses a deep gorge and takes about a minute to ride.
[73] Motorsport activities and events such as stock car racing are hosted at the Spokane County Raceway which features an oval track, road course and a dragstrip; the facility is operated by Spokane County and is also used by local law enforcement for training purposes.
