Spokane’s sports scene provides many opportunities to witness great games and events from college sports to professional arena football.
Basketball fans will feel right at home, especially during Spokane Hoopfest. This 3-on-3 tournament attracted over 6,400 teams and 190,000 fans in 2009 spanning 40 downtown city blocks. Hoopfest 2010 will take place June 26-27. If you visit during the Division I basketball season, don’t miss out on the opportunity to watch a Gonzaga Bulldogs’ home game. Or, for basketball and other sports alike, check out the Division III Whitworth Pirates. In 2008, they were awarded the Northwest Conference McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports trophy for overall sports excellence.
Spokane is also home to a professional arena-football team, the Shock, a major junior ice-hockey team, the Chiefs, a minor league baseball team, the Indians, and a United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League soccer team, the Spiders. The Spokane Shock played their first season in 2006, and placed first in the National Conference Western Division. In 2007, they won their second division title. The Spokane Chiefs were named Memorial Cup Champions after a first-place finish in the Memorial Cup round-robin and a 4-1 defeat of the Kitchener Rangers. Both the Shock and the Chiefs play at the Spokane Arena.
The Spokane Indians, who play at Avista Stadium, are a farm team for the Texas Rangers. The Spokane Spiders, founded in 2006, play in Spokane Falls Stadium at Spokane Falls Community College.
For something a little faster visit the Spokane Raceway Park located just 5 minutes North of Stratford Suites. This track is the premier racing facility in the Inland Northwest, featuring a 2.5 mile grand prix road course, one mile drag strip, and a one mile oval. Whether you want to see street legal drag racing, jet cars, motorcycle racing, or hot laps, Spokane Raceway Park can provide all the horsepower you might be craving.
For more information about sports and other Spokane travel information visit Travel-Spokane.com: The Essential Guide to Spokane.