THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: What's in a name — or names — for Spokane's new stadium

The Arena.

The Podium.

The Stadium.

Why the heck not?

THE GOOD folks over in Spokane are trying to figure out what to name their new downtown stadium, being built within a stone’s throw (OK, depending on who’s throwing the stone) of the Spokane Arena and The Podium indoor facility.

It will host football and soccer for starters, and replace the venerable Joe Albi Stadium, which fell into disrepair in recent years and was demolished last year after some 70 years of storied use.

Elvis Presley performed at Albi. So did Billy Graham.

Washington State used to play some of its home football games there. Some NFL preseason games, including a Seahawks tilt, were played there in the 1970s.

I remember wide receiver Haven Moses running a down-and-out during a Broncos' preseason game at Albi one, slamming into the wall on the sidelines and break his leg.

At least, that's what I remember.

In 1988, the Monsters of Rock, which included Metallica, the Scorpions and Van Halen, played at Albi.

One of the names suggested for the new stadium: North Bank Stadium, presented by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians.

I get honoring a local tribe, though there is also the Spokane and Colville tribes to consider.

And the suggested name itself is a mouthful — by the time announcers get done reciting the entire name of the field, it will be halftime, and half the audience on TV will have changed the channel.

Apparently the first part of the name refers to the part of town where the new stadium is being built.

Although in nearly 50 years of living in this area, I have never heard anyone refer to that side of the river as the “north bank.”

So when I first heard the suggestion of North Bank Stadium, my thought was … does North Bank offer free checking? Will they have an ATM at the stadium?

WHY DOES this affect North Idaho, you say?

Teams from our area sometimes played Spokane-area teams at Albi — Coeur d’Alene, Lake City, Sandpoint, Lakeland and Timberlake are schools that come quickly to mind.

And it was a big deal for North Idaho schools to “play at Albi” — the smaller schools, especially, spoke highly of the experience.

Me, one of my first experiences at Albi was in the early 1980s, watching a playoff game in November. I don’t remember who was playing, but I do remember the folks across the way starting a fire in the stands to keep warm.

Back in the day, Albi was where pretty much all the high school football games were played in town — often times, tripleheaders on Friday nights.

But in recent years, Gonzaga Prep built an on-campus stadium, Mead and Mt. Spokane now play at their new stadium in downtown Mead. And all the Spokane Valley schools have their own fields — some upgraded in recent years to artificial turf.

Coeur d’Alene and Lake City have played at Prep in recent years, and Post Falls played Mt. Spokane at Union Stadium in Mead last fall.

And as for the five schools that still “needed” Albi, some of them made do when the memorable old stadium went away. Shadle Park played a home game on campus, Rogers hosted Post Falls several years ago, and Lewis and Clark played a home game at Hart Field on the south hill.

ON TOP of the idea of calling it North Bank Stadium, the folks bringing pro soccer to Spokane are also suggesting the field — not the name of the stadium — be called Northern Quest Field, or Kalispel Field.

Good grief — who’s going to call it all of that?

If you want to keep it simple …

The Podium, which has hosted indoor track, wrestling and volleyball, among other events, is about as simple as it gets.

The facility that was built in 1996 to replace the old Spokane Coliseum — aka, the Boone Street Barn — is officially called Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, a fitting gesture to those who served. But it is often referred to simply as The Arena.

Or Spokane Arena.

Maybe call the new stadium Spokane Stadium, and folks can call it The Stadium for short.

Like The Arena.

And The Podium.

If that’s not catchy enough, and if no one can come to a consensus on what to call the new stadium, other than calling it “North Bank Stadium Near The Spokane River, Across From Riverfront Park And Down The Road From Where The Zags Play … ”

How about just naming the new stadium …

Downtown Albi?

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.