Sports in Spokane, Washington

• Spokane Bunchgrassers
• Spokane Flyers
• Spokane Comets
• Spokane Canaries
• Spokane Spiders
• Spokane Black Widows
• Spokane Shine

In sports media, Spokane is arguably most notable for being the home of the Gonzaga Bulldogs and their NCAA Division I men's basketball program that competes in the West Coast Conference (WCC). Although the WCC is often considered a “mid-major” conference, the Gonzaga basketball program is often considered a major program. Gonzaga regularly makes it to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament which includes an appearance and runner-up finish in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game.[11] They have made it to the tournament every time since Gonzaga's rise to national prominence in their Cinderella run to the Elite 8 in the 1999 tournament. Gonzaga has produced many NBA players, including John Stockton, Frank Burgess Dan Dickau, Richie Frahm, Ronny Turiaf, Austin Daye, Jeremy Pargo, and Adam Morrison.[12] When the college basketball season begins, the Bulldogs regularly sell out their home games in the McCarthey Athletic Center on the Gonzaga University campus, just north of downtown.

• Spokane Coliseum
• Playfair Race Course
• Joe Albi Stadium

In 1995, the Spokane Public Facilities District opened Spokane's premier sports venue, the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena to replace the aging Spokane Coliseum. In the years since the Spokane Arena opened, it along with the city of Spokane have played host to several major sporting events. The first major event the 1998 Memorial Cup, the championship game of the Canadian Hockey League.[13] Four years later in 2002, Spokane hosted the 2002 Skate America figure skating competition,[14] as well as the first two rounds of NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. In 2003 and 2007 the NCAA returned to Spokane with the Division I Men's Tournament, and again in 2008 with the Women's tournament. The Spokane Arena is the perennial host to the State 'B' Basketball Tournament, which brings athletes and fans from across Washington to Spokane. With the split of the 'B' classification in 2006, beginning in 2007 the city was host to the State 2B (the state's second smallest class) Basketball Championships.

With the addition of the Spokane Sportsplex (currently under construction as of August 2020), the city hopes to attract bigger sporting events; the venue has already booked the 2022 National Track Championships.[15] The Sportsplex is designed to be reconfigured to meet a variety of different sporting events and has a six lane, 200-meter indoor hydraulically banked track which can be also hold up to 17 volleyball courts, ten basketball courts or 21 wrestling mats.[16]

The biggest sports event hosted in Spokane history was the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.[17] The event set an attendance record, selling nearly 155,000 tickets and passing the previous mark of 125,000 set by the 2002 United States Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles and was later named the Sports Event of the Year by Sports Travel Magazine,[18] beating out notable events, including Super Bowl XLI, among others. Fans, analysts and athletes, including Ice Dancing champion Tanith Belbin, spoke highly of the city's performance as host, which included large, supportive crowds. Spokane was also a candidate city for the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, losing its bid to Los Angeles. On May 5, 2008, it was announced that Spokane would once again host the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 2010—ending eighteen days before the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics games in Vancouver, British Columbia.[17]

Every June the city hosts Spokane Hoopfest, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, among the largest of its kind.[19] In 2010, there were 428 courts spread throughout the downtown Spokane streets, resulting in over 40 city blocks being inaccessible to vehicles. A very wide range of players are allowed to play from amateurs to elite athletes, as the only requirement is that players must be entering at least the third grade in the fall following Hoopfest. Many teams highlight their individuality and sense of humor in the selection of their team name and team attire.[20] The event however is not just a basketball event, as there is often live music being played in Riverfront Park, along with merchandisers and various food tents. In 2019, during the Hoopfest organization's 30th anniversary, they launched a community brand, nicknaming Spokane “Hooptown USA”.[21][22] The campaign is supposed to impart the rich basketball culture the community has and their passion for the sport that transcends the game.

The Joy of Running Together bronze was a gift to the city in honor of the annual Lilac Bloomsday Run

Spokane has a vibrant running culture.[23] The city's location, abundance of parks and trails, close-knit community, high school sport competitiveness, and running tradition and culture make it one of the United States' top exporters of runners.[23]

Bloomsday finish line in 2010

The Lilac Bloomsday Run, held in the spring on the first Sunday of May, is a 7.46-mile (12.01 km) race for competitive runners as well as walkers that attracts international competition.[24] The first Bloomsday was organized by Don Kardong in 1977 and drew a crowd of 1,200 people.[25] A Junior Bloomsday course of 1.25-mile (2.01 km) is held at the Interstate Fairgrounds. The number of finishers in 2015 was 43,206.[26] Every finisher of the race receives a Bloomsday T-shirt.

In roller sports, there is an amateur the Lilac City Roller Derby, a flat track roller derby league that features a women's team, an affiliated men's team, and a supported junior roller derby team. The Lilac City Roller Derby is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).[27] Pattison's North in north Spokane is where a roller rink can be found,[28]

For skateboarding, the City of Spokane Department of Parks and Recreation operate two skateparks, the Hillyard Skateboard Park and the Dwight Merkel Skatepark and are constructing a third in Riverfront Park as part of the ongiong renovations (as of July 2020).[29] The Joe Albi Skatepark is another skatepark in north Spokane that is not maintained by the city.

There are a variety of trails that are available for cycling in the Spokane area. The area has 14 trails that cover 4,259 miles.[30] The most popular of these trails are the Spokane River Centennial Trail/North Idaho Centennial Trail and the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.

The city has an annual cylcing event called SpokeFest.[31] Riders of varying degrees of experience start in the Kendall Yards neighborhood and can choose to do a 9-mile, 21-mile or 50-mile "half century" route; The 21-mile route takes cyclists south across the Monroe Street Bridge then west through Browns Addition and north on Government Way and onto the Centennial Trail before reaching Riverside State Park and crossing the 7 Mile Bridge to go back south on Aubrey and L. White Parkway and Pettit Drive to finish at the top of the Spokane Falls whereas the 9-mile route takes a shortcut over the Downriver Bridge before going south and the half century route adds an additional 29-mile loop that travels through Riverside State Park before crossing the 7 Mile Bridge to travel southward back to the start.[32]

Coeur d'Alene Resort's
floating green (14th hole)

Spokane has 13 golf courses in and around the city.[33] The city has an avid golf community and has a remarkable municipal golf course collection, seven in total, that can offer excellent quality golfing for an affordable price.[34] Four of the municipal courses are city run (The Creek at Qualchan, Esmeralda Golf Course, and Downriver Golf Course) and three are run by the county (Liberty Lake Golf Course, MeadowWood Golf Course, and Hangman Valley Golf Course). Other municipal or public 18-hole golf courses include the Wandermere Golf Course and Deer Park Golf Course in north Spokane County and the Fairways Golf Course in Cheney. The most noteworthy of the system is the Indian Canyon Golf Course which was designed by Chandler Egan (who had a part in designing Pebble Beach) and opened in 1935.[34] The course formerly hosted the Esmeralda Open on the PGA Tour, and hosted three U.S. amateur golfing championships in 1941, 1984, and 1989 and currently hosts the Rosauers Open Invitational, an annual Pacific Northwest PGA event.[34] The Manito Golf and Country Club, a private golf club on the South Hill, hosted the 1944 PGA Championship and the Spokane Country Club (now the Kalispel Golf and Country Club) in north Spokane hosted the first championship of the U.S. Women's Open in 1946.[34][35] The Athletic Round Table headed by Joe Albi organized the tournament events held in the city in the 1940s.

Across the border in Idaho, Coeur d'Alene has become a destination for golf enthusiasts.[36][37] The city is home to five golf courses and there are another eight more within 20 miles (32 km).[38] The most notable courses include the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course with its unique 14th hole floating green, Circling Raven Golf Club at the Coeur d'Alene Casino resort in Worley, and the private Tom Fazio-designed Gozzer Ranch near Eddyville, Idaho.[39]

For rock climbing, the Spokane area has a variety of climbing areas of varying difficulty not far from the city as well as some climbing gyms that feature climbing walls for bouldering.[40] There are nine climbing areas within a half an hour drive from Spokane.[41] Among the most popular of these locations are the Minnehaha Rocks, the Rocks of Sharon, Q'emiln Park, the McLellan Rocks, and Mirabeau Point Park.[40] The oldest, most developed, and popular area is Minnehaha, which features over 70 climbing routes and over 100 bouldering routes.[41]

For caving or spelunking, Gardner Cave near Metaline in Pend Orielle County, the longest limestone cave in the state with a length of 1,055-feet,[42] within Crawford State Park is likely the most popular option.[43] Only the first 494 feet are open to public access.[44]

Spokane has 76 lakes for outdoor sports and recreation such as wake boarding, paddleboarding, sailing, parasailing, jet skiing, kayaking, and fishing.[45]

The City of Spokane maintains six outdoor aquatic centers and splash pads and Spokane County maintains two.[46][47]

In the shooting sports, Spokane has two clubs that have facilities in the area, the Spokane Gun Club and the Spokane Rifle Club. The Spokane Rifle Club is located within Riverside State Park and its range facilities include a clubhouse, an outdoor rifle range, indoor and outdoor pistol ranges, as well as trap and skeet ranges. The Spokane Gun Club has acquired new property in the West Plains of Spokane in a move from its historic home in the Spokane Valley; it plans to construct a clubhouse and trap and skeet fields.[48]

For winter sport activities, there are two ski resorts in northeastern Washington, Mount Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park north of Spokane and 49 Degrees North Ski Area in Chewelah as well as three major ski resorts in north Idaho, Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area at Lookout Pass near Mullan, and Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort in Sandpoint.[49]

The Eagles Ice Arena is the only ice rink in the city proper (two others are in Cheney and Coeur d'Alene).[50] The Eagles Ice Arena is where the Spokane Braves junior "B" hockey team of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League play their home games.