Indians of Long Standing

Outside Avista Stadium, Aug-2002.

The field near sunset, with the newish sky boxes visible.

A good look at the view from behind the plate.

• Location: Spokane Co. Fairground, Havana Street, Spokane, Wash.
• Opened: 1958 as Fairgrounds Field
• Additional names: SeaFirst Stadium (1995); Avista Stadium (2001)
• Home team: Spokane Indians, Pacific Coast League (1958-82), Northwest League (1983-present)
• Capacity: 7,162

Chronological Tour: Stop 230

Rating: 3 baseballs

Most of the stadium consists of conventional stadium seating, although there are some folding chairs in the field boxes and the outer bleacher sections have aluminum benches. The sky boxes you see were installed in the 1990s, during a renovation project.

The field faces southeast, minimizing distraction from the sun at night games. There is plenty of foul territory here.

I had a problem with a blaring sound system at this park, making me appreciate my trip to Boise the next night a lot more.

The PCL Indians had arrived in 1958, when the Los Angeles Angels were displaced by the arrival of the Dodgers. When that team left, it went to Las Vegas and adopted the name Stars, a name originally used by their rival club in Hollywood. Immediately, the Northwest League stepped in to fill the void and keep Indians in Spokane.

Avista is a power utility. The prior sponsor, Seafirst, was a bank.