Away Days: Spokane
The Essentials
Club: Spokane Velocity FC
Stadium: ONE Spokane Stadium — 501 W Gardner Ave, Spokane, WA 99201. 5,000 seats. Purpose-built downtown ground in the North Bank entertainment district, a block from Riverfront Park. Intimate, loud, and one of the best atmospheres in League One.
Tickets: Available through TicketsWest at uslspokane.com/velocity-fc-tickets.
Nearest Airport: Spokane International Airport (GEG), roughly 8 miles west of the stadium.
Driving from Fort Wayne FC Park: Approximately 1,930 miles via I-90 West, roughly 28–30 hours nonstop. A two-day haul — consider overnighting in Billings, Montana, which splits the drive in half.
Parking & Transit: No dedicated stadium lot. The Parkade on Main between Howard and Stevens is the landmark downtown garage — a midcentury icon on the historic registry with a $13 daily max and skywalk access to Riverfront Park. Other paid garages and surface lots around Spokane Arena and The Podium work too. Spokane Transit Route 11 stops across the street from the stadium. Rideshare works fine here.
Weather: Spokane gets all four seasons. Spring matches can be chilly and dry (40s–50s), summers are warm and sunny (80s–90s), and fall cools off fast. Layers March through May; sunscreen from June on.
Where to Stay
The Montvale Hotel is the pick if you want character — a 1905 boutique property in the heart of the entertainment district, dripping with original art and dark wood. You’re walking distance to everything. Hotel Ruby is a solid mid-range option on West First Avenue with clean rooms, friendly staff, and Riverfront Park practically at your doorstep. If you’re keeping it cheap, the Ruby River Hotel on North Division gets the job done with decent rooms at budget prices and a riverside setting that punches above its weight class.
Eat & Drink
Dick’s Hamburgers is the move you don’t skip. Open since 1964, this drive-up burger stand on East Third has a wild googie-style sign — a panda holding a hamburger being pecked by a neon rooster — and burgers so cheap you order them by the bag. It’s not trying to impress you, and that’s exactly why it does. For a proper dinner, Italia Trattoria in Browne’s Addition is the best meal in town. Chef-driven, seasonal Italian with handmade pasta and a menu that changes almost daily. Make a reservation.
No-Li Brewhouse is essential drinking. Riverside brewery on East Trent with award-winning craft beer and a patio right on the Spokane River — Born & Raised IPA is the flagship, and it earns it. Hogwash Whiskey Den is a speakeasy tucked into the basement of the historic Washington Cracker Building — 200-plus whiskeys, creative cocktails, and a food menu that has no business being this good in a basement bar. The okonomiyaki tots and the smashed burger on housemade brioche are the orders.
Feast World Kitchen on West Third is unlike anything else in any League One city. It’s a nonprofit restaurant where immigrant and refugee chefs rotate through on different days, cooking dishes from their home countries — Syrian, Colombian, Thai, Ethiopian, Lebanese, and more. Over 90 cents of every dollar goes directly to the chef family. The menu changes constantly, the food is exceptional, and the whole project is a reflection of what makes Spokane quietly special. Bruncheonette handles your morning. Voted best brunch in Spokane four years running, and the smoked brisket hash will ruin every other breakfast you eat for a month.
Things to Do
Riverfront Park is the signature. Walk the falls, ride the Numerica SkyRide gondola over the Spokane River, and check out the 1909 Looff Carousel. Largest urban waterfall in the country, right downtown. For something more active, drive 30 minutes to Bowl and Pitcher at Riverside State Park: a dramatic basalt gorge with a Depression-era suspension bridge and hiking trails along the river. Manito Park on the South Hill is a gorgeous botanical garden that feels like a secret — the Duncan Garden alone is worth the detour. Browne’s Addition, one of the best-preserved Victorian neighborhoods in the West, is ideal for a long walk between meals.
The One Thing
Take the SkyRide gondola over Spokane Falls at golden hour. You’re suspended above a roaring urban waterfall with the whole city stretched out around you. It costs a few bucks and takes ten minutes. You’ll remember it for years.