*** Spokane Celebrates Complex ***
Spokane, Washington -- 08/07/2010
The Dwight Merkel Sports Complex adjacent to Joe Albi Stadium
in Northwest Spokane has been more than a decade in the making.
With a bond passed by taxpayers and many donations, the facility
opened this August 07th, 2010 to a busy day of games, BMX races,
skateboarding and fun.
LauraLi Gilliam sailed over the mounded dirt of Spokane’s new BMX
track on her 20-inch tires, christening the track with a herd of others
on Saturday.
The track is one of several new features added in the expansion of the
76-acre Dwight Merkel Sports Complex near Joe Albi Stadium in north
Spokane. The complex, on North Assembly Street, includes six full-size
soccer fields, two synthetic fields, five softball diamonds, a BMX track,
a skate park, a splash pad and walking trails. In 2007, voters passed
a park improvement bond that helped finance the expansion of the old
facility. Construction started in 2008.
Before this track opened, Gilliam’s family would
drive up to an hour just for her to practice.
“It’s amazing. I can practice more and get
better now that this track opened,” she said.
Her mother Tisha looks forward to
watching her daughter race on the track.
“The riders go elbow to elbow, it’s exciting,” Tisha said.
Spokane Parks and Recreation Supervisor Mike Aho said for the
past 17 years, Spokane parents and riders looked for a way to get
a BMX track. In 2007 they saw their opportunity with plans for the
expanded sports complex. BMX enthusiasts collaborated on the design
with ex-professional riders, the parks department, and some experts
from the Cherry Hill BMX track in Coeur d’Alene, Aho said.
The course has a 16-foot high, $90,000 concrete hill. At the top
of the hill is a hydraulic starting gate that will be used to host BMX
races, Aho said.
On the other side of the complex, the skaters glided over ridges
and rails and what 21-year-old Bernard Quaid called “a gnarly bowl.”
The bowl is a deep, rounded ravine where expert skaters circle at high
speeds, maybe sliding up to the edge for a momentary pause before
plunging down again. If a skater accomplishes a trick, the other skaters
may tap their boards against the concrete in a type of applause.
“This park puts Spokane on the map for skating.
And it keeps skaters out of the public’s way,” Quaid said.
The complex’s namesake is a youth sports advocate who dedicated
more than half of his life in service to the Spokane Youth Sports
Association, Spokane Parks & Recreation and Greater Spokane Sports
Association. Merkel introduced youth soccer to Spokane and worked to
keep fees low to attract thousands of Spokane children in learning
sportsmanship and skills. Merkel died of cancer in 1997 at age 55.
Merkel, along with volunteers, friends and
grants made the original sports facility possible.
“We lived a few miles away from the North complex, and Dwight
walked the dog over every night to check the sprinklers,” said
Sharon Strand, Merkel’s wife of 19 years. She added Merkel would
have been thrilled about the sprinkler system at the new complex.
“Dwight never had children of his own, but he had thousands,”
Strand said. “He was dedicated to his community and family.”
CC - Spokesman Review
ACC - http://www.genesbmx.com/spokane-bmx.html
