Misplaced Pages

#306693

52-728: After several attempts to replace the Spokane Coliseum, the Spokane Public Facilities District was created in 1989 by the Washington State Legislature by virtue of RCW 36.100. The Legislature appropriated $ 500,000 to the District to commence operations. The District is a municipal corporation. It is an independent taxing authority and a taxing district as defined in the state Constitution. The boundaries are coextensive with

104-531: A core group of employees to operate and manage all the facilities and will continue to rely heavily on contract services for many of the day-to-day operational tasks. The official groundbreaking ceremony for the Convention Center Expansion took place on July 1, 2004. The expansion was completed ahead of schedule and a dedication ceremony occurred on July 19, 2006. A public open house was held the following day and well attended. The portion of

156-774: A court order upheld the Cheney recount. A new ballot question in 1886 resulted in Spokane becoming the permanent county seat. According to the United States Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 1,781 sq mi (4,610 km ), of which 17 square miles (44 km ) (0.9%) are covered by water. The lowest point in the county is the Spokane River behind Long Lake Dam (boundary of Stevens County ) at 1,538 feet (469 m) above sea level . (Virtually no change in elevation occurs between

208-464: A household in the county was $ 37,308, and for a family was $ 46,463. Males had a median income of $ 35,097 versus $ 25,526 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 19,233. About 8.30% of families and 12.30% of the population were below the poverty line , including 14.20% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or over. Spokane County is governed by a partisan board of county commissioners, one from each of five districts. They run in

260-628: A measure. The one-tenth of one percent sales tax measure was placed on the primary election ballot in September 1991 and received the approval of Spokane County voters, thus completing the financing needed to construct the Arena. The ballot proposition specified the cost of the facility at $ 44.8 million and stated that all funds would be used for the Arena project. Both taxes were imposed on January 1, 1992. Ceremonial groundbreaking occurred on March 5, 1993. The Arena opened in September 1995 and has been

312-440: A partisan primary election within their own district, then compete countywide in the general election . Other elected officials include the sheriff , auditor (who is also responsible for elections), assessor , treasurer , and prosecutor , which are also partisan offices. Spokane County has an appointed medical examiner . In 2023, Spokane County expanded the number of County Commissioner seats from 3 to 5. As of January 2023,

364-527: A permanent county seat was to be decided in an election in November 1880 between the growing cities of Cheney and Spokane Falls, both candidates for a major Northern Pacific Railway hub. The unofficial returns showed a 14-vote margin in favor of Cheney, but the result was disputed by county officials from Spokane Falls based on "irregularities" in the ballots. The official result had a margin of two or three votes for Spokane Falls, but Cheney residents demanded

416-486: A property tax bond issue of $ 38 million to finance construction; and (2) a measure to validate the District, which would allow it to impose a two percent hotel/motel room tax on properties of 40 or more units. The second measure passed while the first failed to get the super majority needed for approval. In December 1990 the City of Spokane and Spokane County each issued $ 15.4 million in bonds to preserve tax-exempt status. This

468-526: A recount, which was granted by a court order that was ignored by county officials in Spokane Falls. On March 21, 1881, a group of armed Cheney residents forcibly took custody of the county auditor, recount ballots, and other county records during a nighttime raid. After declaring their own recount had been in favor of Cheney as county seat, the records and the county auditor were moved from Spokane Falls; other government officials also moved to Cheney after

520-449: A remarkable success for the community. Since opening its doors, the Arena has sold millions of tickets and hosted a variety of events including 5 sold-out Garth Brooks concerts, Elton John, Nickelback, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, numerous Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Championship events, the record-breaking 2007 and 2010 US Figure Skating Championships, Walking with Dinosaurs, and Star Wars: In Concert, amongst others. In April 2012,

572-598: Is John Nowels, whose term began on January 1, 2023. Transportation planning within the county is handled by the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, a metropolitan planning organization that was created in 1962. It distributes federal and state funds for transportation projects and updates the long-range transportation plan for Spokane County. Spokane County is rather conservative for an urban county, voting Republican for president all but three times since 1948. Democratic strength

SECTION 10

#1732783022307

624-519: Is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington . As of the 2020 census , its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane , the second largest city in the state after Seattle . The county is named after the Spokane people . Spokane County is part of the Spokane metropolitan area , which is also part of

676-505: Is a place or venue for sports or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event. There are various types of sporting venues, depending on the sport played. For example: the racetrack for car racing, the hippodrome for horse racing, the velodrome for cycling, and the swimming pool for swimming. Some sporting venues can accommodate over one hundred thousand spectators, such as

728-576: Is concentrated in Spokane itself and in Cheney, which is home to Eastern Washington University , while the suburban areas are heavily Republican. The Republican edge has narrowed somewhat since the turn of the century. In the last five elections, the margin has been under 9% each time. The county government adopted an official flag in 1988 following a public design contest sponsored by the Spokane County Centennial Commission. The winning entry from Stephanie Bumgarner-Ott,

780-485: The 2000 census , there were 417,939 people, 163,611 households, and 106,019 families were in the county. The population density was 237 people per square mile (92 people/km ). The 175,005 housing units had an average density of 99 units per square mile (38 units/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 88.62% White, 2.00% African American, 1.40% Native American, 1.88% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 0.82% from other races, and 2.76% from two or more races; 2.77% of

832-537: The 2010 census , there were 471,221 people, 187,167 households, and 118,212 families were residing in the county. The population density was 267.2 people per square mile (103.2 people/km ). The 201,434 housing units had an average density of 114.2 units per square mile (44.1 units/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 89.2% White, 2.1% Asian, 1.7% African American, 1.5% American Indian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 1.2% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.5% of

884-689: The Bitterroot Valley petitioned to create their own county, which was not granted at that time; the territorial legislature reorganized Spokane County on January 17, 1860, with a seat on a land claim near Fort Colville . The first county government met on May 8, 1860, and began conducting business. The eastern and southern portions of Spokane County were partitioned several times as new counties were created, beginning with Missoula County in December 1860 and followed by Shoshone County and Nez Perce County in 1861. These areas became part of

936-555: The Kullyspell House and Saleesh House fur trading posts in what are now Idaho and Montana, Thompson then attempted to expand further west. He sent out two trappers, Jacques Raphael Finlay and Finan McDonald, to construct a fur-trading post on the Spokane River in Washington and trade with the local Indians. This post was established in 1810, at the confluence of the Little Spokane and Spokane Rivers , becoming

988-652: The Spokane Arena , Spokane Convention Center , the First Interstate Center for the Arts , The Podium , and ONE Spokane Stadium . In the spring of 1990, the District Board published a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for an economic feasibility/market analysis. Laventhol & Horwath (now Price Waterhouse) was hired to help determine the type, size and location of a new facility to replace

1040-621: The CC expansion and remodel, the District began a series of project at the First Interstate Center for the Arts. Since 2003 the District has invested heavily in the INB in projects that include: new seats, a rigging system upgrade, a new sound system, new chillers, paint, carpet, new elevators, new marquee, and all new site work. In 2010, the First Interstate Center for the Arts was awarded LEED Silver Certification for existing buildings by

1092-588: The CC that was constructed for the 1974 Worlds Fair was completely remodeled and opened on time and on budget in May 2007. The CCX was awarded LEED Silver Certification in 2007 by the US Green Building Council, making it just the third convention center structure in the country to be awarded with such a distinction. As of 2010, the previously existing Convention Center facility was awarded LEED Silver Certification for existing buildings. In April 2012,

SECTION 20

#1732783022307

1144-630: The Coliseum. David Petersen of L & H conducted over 40 interviews with local area elected officials, user groups, citizens and promoters as part of this study. Nine sites were evaluated for possible location of a new facility. The Board subsequently voted unanimously to accept the recommendations of the Laventhol & Horwath study, as follows: A ballot proposition was placed on the County general election ballot in November 1990 with two issues: (1)

1196-683: The District went back to voters with a ballot measure to extend the two percent hotel/motel room tax, providing the District with the financing to add additional space to the Spokane Convention Center, complete work on the Spokane Riverbank, and upgrade the seating structures in the Arena. Constructed for Expo '74, the First Interstate Center for the Arts is home to WestCoast Entertainment's Annual "Best of Broadway" Series and many iconic performances by legendary artists and family shows. Immediately following completion of

1248-459: The District went back to voters with a ballot measure to extend the two percent hotel/motel room tax, providing the District with the financing to add additional space to the Spokane Convention Center, complete work on the Spokane Riverbank, and upgrade the seating structures in the Arena. In August 2002, the Board revised the District's Mission Statement to include other projects, as the original PFD

1300-535: The Regional Projects including a significant expansion of the Spokane Convention Center and the new projects at both the Fair and Expo Center and at Mirabeau Point. The Board determined that the site for Convention Center Expansion (CCX) must be adjacent to and attached to the existing Convention Center and Ag Trade Center. Sites to both the east and to the south were evaluated. Geotechnical work on both sites

1352-420: The US Green Building Council. Officially named, The Podium Powered by STCU, the venue is a 135,000-square-foot (12,500 m) indoor multi-use sports facility that opened in December 2021. The main competition space includes a 6-lane, 200-meter hydraulically banked indoor track, and can also accommodate 16 volleyball courts, 9 basketball courts, 21 wrestling mats, and other multi-sport layouts. In partnership with

1404-526: The boundaries of Spokane County . As defined by the Legislature, the SPFD was authorized to "acquire, construct, own and operate sports and entertainment facilities with contiguous parking facilities." It has a five person Board of Directors. Two directors are appointed by the City of Spokane, two are appointed by Spokane County, and one is appointed by the other directors. The District manages and maintains

1456-414: The county consist of foreign born persons. Of those 25 years or older, 94.2% people in the county hold a high school diploma , GED , or higher; and 31.5% obtaining a bachelor's degree or higher. Of those below the age of 65 years, 10.% have a disability and 6.3% are without health insurance. The median household income was $ 64,079 (in 2021 dollars) and 11.2% of the county are living in poverty. As of

1508-400: The county was 82.1% White , 2.0% African American , 1.5% Native American , 2.3% Asian , 0.8% Pacific Islander , 2.2% from some other races and 9.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.6% of the population. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18, 5.5% were under 5 years of age, and 17.5% were 65 and older. Females consisted of 50.1% of the county. 5.3% of

1560-438: The current commissioners for Spokane County are Chris Jordan ( Democrat ), Amber Waldref ( Democrat ), Josh Kerns ( Republican ), Mary Kuney ( Republican ), and Al French ( Republican ), from the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth county districts, respectively. The previous Sheriff was Ozzie D. Knezovich , who was appointed on April 11, 2006, and retired on December 31, 2022. The current elected Sheriff of Spokane County

1612-671: The dam and the mouth of the Little Spokane River inside Riverside State Park .) The highest point in the county is the summit of Mount Spokane at 5,887 ft (1,794 m).  NAVD 88 Spokane County has a complex geologic history and varied topography. To the west is the barren landscape of the Columbia Basin and to the east are the foothills of the Rockies —the Coeur d'Alene Mountains , which rise to

Spokane Public Facilities District - Misplaced Pages Continue

1664-480: The daughter of state legislator Gary Bumgarner , depicts the ceremonial headdress of the Spokane people against a yellow sun; the background is green with a diagonal blue stripe to represent the Spokane River. The flag was sent for display at the Washington State Capitol for the state centennial in 1989 and 25 copies were made at a cost of $ 1,751.75; it was used for official events, including

1716-465: The east in northern Idaho. Spokane County lies in a transition area between the eastern edge of the basaltic Channeled Scablands steppe plains to the west and the rugged, timbered Rocky Mountain foothills to the east. The area exhibits signs of the prehistoric geologic events that shaped the area and region such as the Missoula Floods , which ended 12,000 to 15,000 years ago. The geography to

1768-634: The first enduring European settlement of significance in Washington. Known as the Spokane House , or simply "Spokane", it was in operation from 1810 to 1826. Spokane County was established by the Washington Territorial Legislature effective January 29, 1858, from a portion of Walla Walla County , which originally encompassed most of eastern Washington Territory between the Cascades and Rockies . The new county

1820-488: The funeral of a county commissioner, but was not on permanent display in Spokane County buildings. One copy of the flag was stored in a vault in the county courthouse until 1995 and later lost again. The county government announced plans to decommission the design in 2002 and hold a new public contest due to the original flag's appearance, which was deemed potentially offensive to Native Americans. A new county seal

1872-409: The greater Spokane–Coeur d'Alene combined statistical area that includes nearby Kootenai County, Idaho . The first humans to arrive in what is now Spokane County arrived between 12,000 and 8,000 years ago and were hunter-gatherer societies who lived off the plentiful game in the area. Initially, the settlers hunted predominantly bison and antelope , but after the game migrated out of the region,

1924-699: The native people became dependent on gathering various roots, berries, and nuts, and harvesting fish. The Spokane tribe, after which the county is named, means "Children of the Sun" or "sun people" in Salishan Explorer-geographer David Thompson , working as head of the North West Company 's Columbia Department , became the first European to explore what is now the Inland Northwest . After establishing

1976-405: The new Idaho Territory , which was organized by the U.S. Congress on March 3, 1863, and reduced the size of Spokane County even further. On January 19, 1864, the county was annexed into neighboring Stevens County , which had been created a year earlier from the northern portions of Walla Walla County. The seat of Stevens County was Pinkney City (now Colville ) until it was temporarily relocated to

2028-425: The northwest portion, which is the rugged and forested Selkirk Mountains . As of the 2020 census , there were 539,339 people, 212,470 households, and 132,324 families residing in the county. The population density was 305.7 inhabitants per square mile (118.0/km ) averaging 2.46 persons per household. There were 224,019 housing units had an average density of 128.0 per square mile (49.4/km ). The racial makeup of

2080-493: The owner, Spokane Public Schools (SPS), the 5,000 seat stadium opened in September 2023 and is directly north of The Podium . The venue hosts SPS high school football and soccer. The stadium will also host three United Soccer League (USL) teams: a professional women's USL Super League team, a professional men's USL League One team, and a pre-professional USL W League team. All three teams are expected to start in 2024. Spokane County, Washington Spokane County

2132-461: The population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. About 22.0% were of German , 10.7% Irish , 9.9% English , 7.6% American, and 6.4% Norwegian ancestry. Of the 163,611 households, 32.4% had children under 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were not families. About 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who

Spokane Public Facilities District - Misplaced Pages Continue

2184-427: The population. In terms of ancestry, 27.0% were German, 15.4% were Irish, 13.5% were English, 6.9% were Norwegian, and 4.4% were American . Of the 187,167 households, 30.9% had children under 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were not families; 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size

2236-620: The southeast, such as the Saltese Flats and Saltese Uplands is characterized as a shrub–steppe landscape with grassy hills and ravines. In ecology, as with the topography, the county is also in a transition area, roughly split between the Columbia Plateau ecoregion in the southwest portion, where it is at the eastern edge of the basaltic Channeled Scablands steppe plain and the Northern Rockies ecoregion in

2288-464: The town of Spokane Falls (now Spokane) in 1875. Spokane County was re-established on October 30, 1879, from the portions of Stevens County south of the Columbia, Spokane, and Wenatchee rivers. The western portion of the county was used to create Lincoln County , which was established on November 23, 1883. The first post office in the county was located at Spokane Bridge . The selection of

2340-449: Was 2.44, and the average family size was 2.99. The median age was 36.8 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 47,250 and for a family was $ 59,999. Males had a median income of $ 44,000 versus $ 33,878 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 25,127. About 9.1% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line , including 17.0% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over. As of

2392-407: Was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.46, and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the age distribution was 25.7% under 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females. there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males. The median income for

2444-427: Was adopted in 2005 that depicts the county courthouse. School districts in the county include: Community colleges include: Universities include: 47°37′N 117°24′W  /  47.62°N 117.40°W  / 47.62; -117.40 Sports venue A sports venue is a building, structure, or place in which a sporting competition is held. A stadium (plural: stadiums or stadia) or arena

2496-519: Was bound to the west by the Columbia and Snake rivers and to the east by the Rockies; it included portions of modern-day Idaho and Montana . The territorial legislature designated the farm of Angus McLeod as the temporary county seat and appointed officials to several positions for Spokane County, but they never took office and did not organize a government. In late 1859, a group of settlers in

2548-512: Was completed and both sites could accommodate a 100,000 sq.ft exhibit hall, new lobby and loading areas, covered connections between the facilities and on-site parking. The District completed the site selection process for the CCX project and in August 2003 approved the purchase of the property to the east of the existing facility and property on the block to the south. The 100,000 square-foot Exhibit Hall

2600-619: Was created for the construction of the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena only. Following a report issued by the Facilities 2000 Working Group they recommended that the PFD take on other projects due to the successful operation of the Arena. There are three main projects: The 5-member Board began their due diligence to determine if it was fiscally feasible. On May 21, 2002, Spokane County voters overwhelmingly authorized

2652-582: Was located on the East site. On September 2, 2003 the management of the Spokane Opera House, now the First Interstate Center for the Arts, and Convention Center was transferred to the Spokane Public Facilities District. There was a special "Passing of the Keys" ceremony involving representatives for the PFD and the City of Spokane. After consideration of every management alternative, the District hired

SECTION 50

#1732783022307

2704-436: Was the basis of the first Interlocal Cooperation Agreement among the District, City and County. Over that winter the Board again met with local elected officials and community leaders to discuss the concept of a one-tenth of one percent sales tax measure. Local area legislators (primarily Senator Jim West and Representative Bill Day) worked to obtain legislative support of a bill to allow the District to seek voter approval of such

#306693