Baseball fans in Spokane woke up to some tough news Friday morning. A place that holds decades of memories now sits scarred after flames tore through part of Avista Stadium. The 67-year-old ballpark, home of the Spokane Indians, filled with smoke when a fire ripped through its concession stands in the early hours.
Crews rushed in around 2:55 a.m. after calls of smoke and flames. By then, the roof had already started giving way. Firefighters attacked the blaze hard but pulled back when parts of the metal structure collapsed. Spokane Valley Fire Department said quick work stopped the fire from spreading to other buildings, but the concession area took heavy damage.
Fans React As Baseball Stadium Got Severely Damaged
Reporter Dave Nichols of the Spokesman-Review estimated the damages could run into the tens of thousands. The loss stings even more with the Spokane County Interstate Fair set to kick off Friday. KREM reported that all fair events will still move forward as planned.
“Firefighters launched an aggressive interior attack, but access challenges and a partial collapse of the roof forced crews to withdraw,” the Spokane Valley Fire Department wrote in a statement. They later switched to a defensive strategy, working from the outside until the fire calmed down.
For many in Spokane, Avista Stadium is more than just a field. Built in 1958 as Fairgrounds Ballpark, it has hosted legends like Carlos Beltrán, Zack Greinke, and Steve Garvey. Gonzaga’s baseball team even played there for a stretch in the 2000s. Now, fans are left to wonder how long it will take to bring the old place back to life.
Investigators worked through the morning to find out what set the fire. The good news is no one got hurt. The bad news is clear every time locals look at the charred remains of a stadium that’s been part of the city for nearly seven decades.
