Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena ( Spokane Arena ) a multi - purpose arena , located in Spokane , Washington , USA . It is home to the Spokane Chiefs , of the WHL and the Spokane Shock , of the AFL . Facility . Construction . With an aging Spokane Coliseum , along with a need for a larger facility more than twice the coliseum ' s capacity , the Spokane City Council and Board of Spokane County Commissioners formed the Spokane Public Facilities District ( SPFD ) to acquire , construct , own and operate sports and entertainment facilities with contiguous parking facilities . In 1990 , the SPFD board members unanimously agreed on the following recommendations made by an economic feasibility / market study . The recommendations were : Voters rejected the Spokane Arena four times in six years before agreeing to build it in 1991 . In the fall of that year , two ballot measures were put out to voters , and passed : In the fall of 1991 , another funding measure was put out to voters and was passed . It involved a 0 . 1 % raise in the sales tax . The passage of all three measures completed the US $ 44 . 8 million financining needed to build the arena . The Spokane Arena broke ground on March 5 , 1993 , and opened in September 1995 . Building facts . The Spokane Arena has a capacity for : The arena has a state - of - the - art audio and video system . It consists of a x Viacom Sports 12 mm LED display , which is capable of being used as two separate units . The video board has exceptional color reproduction and the best off - angle viewing available for any LED format . It can even be moved forward approximately and down to approximately off the arena floor . The arena also features a 350° color LED ribbon board , which is mounted on the fascia of the Spokane Arena bowl . It is capable of displaying text messages , animations , logos , scores and statistics . Powered by Crown Amplifiers , the audio system is driven by Community RS880 speakers in the Arena bowl , Altec Lansing satellite speakers for the upper seating areas , and Bose speakers serve the concourse , dressing rooms , and backstage hallways . Large public areas are one of the greater features of the Spokane Arena . The arena floor is , and the high concourse is a spacious . 16 luxury suites containing a total of 146 seats . In addition , there are six meeting rooms located at the Spokane Arena , totalling of meeting space . On the Events Level , there are five truck docks with x loading doors , one x drive - in door , and one x drive - in loading door , allowing large shows to load and unload eight trucks simultaneously . Trucks can load and unload unobstructed , directly into the marshalling area at the arena floor ' s west end . Backstage are three star dressing rooms , two promoter offices ( located in the marshalling area ) , and seven team dressing rooms , as well as a dressing room for officials . 2012 Expansion / Future . Incorporated into its original design was an area designated for future expansion of the arena . Expansion of the upper bowl would raise the seating capacity of the arena to over 15 , 000 . In 2011 , the Spokane Public Facilities District became concerned the NCAA may tighten its criteria and require a true minimum of 12 , 000 , with no allowance for seats lost due to tournament infrastructure . In early 2012 , the Spokane Public Facilities District had " Measure 1 " put on the April ballot , which was proposing to extend a one - tenth of 1 percent sales tax and a 2 percent room tax to pay for a 91 , 000 - square - foot addition to the Convention Center and other projects , including adding 750 seats to the Arena . Measure 1 was voted yes , and the 750 seat addition to the Arena will start sometime in 2012 . However , in the seats that are to be added may have sight obstruction to the video wall , as it is on the same side facing away . After this phase of new seating , full expansion of the arena including a center hung scoreboard and full seating expansion will cost roughly $ 3 , 547 , 000 . It is unknown as to whether the PFD will fully max out the arena ' s capacity . Events . Sports . Basketball . Spokane Arena , in addition to its duties as being the host of Chiefs and Shock games , also serves as a secondary home for the men ' s basketball programs of Gonzaga University and Washington State University for at least one big matchup per year . Historically , the Bulldogs ' annual game with local rival Eastern Washington University was played here , but the rivalry has gone dormant due to the rise of the Zags ' program to major status in the early 2000s . Today , the visiting team at Spokane Arena is generally another national power , such as Memphis in 2007 . It also hosted the Washington Class B state high school basketball tournament annually until 2006 . The tournament came back to the arena in 2007 , but as the Class 2B tournament . The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association had split the B classification into 1B and 2B . The Yakima SunDome in Yakima , Washington hosts the 1B tournament . The Class 1B tournament returned in 2011 when the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association changed the state tournament format . Notably , this was the reason why the West Coast Conference Men ' s Basketball Tournament had never been in Spokane before 2006 ; the Class B and WCC tournaments clash every year , and Gonzaga ' s arena at that time , the Charlotte Y . Martin Centre , was too small to host the WCC tournament ( it seated only 4 , 000 people ) . In 2004 , Gonzaga opened a new basketball arena , the McCarthey Athletic Center , which enabled it to enter the WCC tournament rotation . The conference has since moved its tournament to Orleans Arena in Las Vegas . The arena has also hosted several NCAA Division I basketball tournament first - and second - round games for both men and women with Washington State University being the host school . In 2008 and 2011 , it was a women ' s regional site . The 2011 regional was notable for the presence of Gonzaga , who became the lowest - seeded team ever to make a regional final in the women ' s tournament . Spokane landed another NCAA Men ' s basketball first and second round in 2010 . It was the 3rd time in the same decade that the city has catered to this event . ( 2003 and 2007 being the others . ) Bull riding . In 1999 , the PBR made a stop in Spokane Arena for a Bud Light Cup event ; it was one of six wins for Cody Hart in 1999 , the same year he became a PBR World Champion . Figure skating . In January 2007 , the Spokane Arena was put in the national spotlight once again . It was one of two facilities to host the 2007 U . S . Figure Skating Championships , the other being the Group Health Exhibit Hall at the Spokane Center several blocks away . The arena , as well as the city received many rave reviews and also shattered the previous attendance record for the event , previously held by Los Angeles , California , by over 30 , 000 attendees . On May 5 , 2008 , it was announced that Spokane would once again host the U . S . Figure Skating Championships leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics . Spokane Arena was the sole venue for the 2010 U . S . Figure Skating Championships . The Spokane Arena successfully hosted the 2010 US Figure Skating Championships from January 15 – 24 , 2010 and broke its own attendance record with 158 , 170 tickets sold during the 10 - day event . Football . The Spokane Shock , of the Arena Football League , play their home games at the arena . Ice hockey . The Spokane Chiefs , of the WHL , also play their home games at the arena . Concerts at Star Theater . The Star Theater is a 5 , 900 - seat theater , within Spokane Arena , used for theater concerts , Broadway , family shows and other events . Other events . Numerous other activities have taken place at the Spokane Arena including circuses , large conferences , monster truck shows , concerts and much more . And every year the arena is home to Spokane ' s band and strings spectacular featuring the areas band and strings groups grades 5 - 6 from all schools .