County Commissioner Mary Cooney hosted Chris Duff, president of the Spokane Indians, on Spokane County Spotlight to discuss the team’s shift to a long-season affiliation with Major League Baseball, recent renovations at Vista Stadium and community partnerships that helped secure the club’s future in Spokane County.

Duff said the Indians moved from a short-season club to a long-season team as part of MLB’s 2020 reorganization of the minor leagues and that the change required facility upgrades to meet MLB player-development standards by the 2025 opening day. “We actually moved up 2 levels of baseball. So instead of a short season, we ended up with a long season that starts early April and runs all the way through Labor Day,” Duff said.

The nuts and bolts: Duff told Cooney the team drew more than 255,000 fans to Spokane Indians games in 2024, an all-time high for the team. He said the club employs 25 full-time, year-round staff and more than 370 seasonal workers and estimates the Indians generate over $25,000,000 in annual economic impact to the Spokane County community.

Why it matters: The upgrades and partnerships preserved Spokane’s professional club during a period when Major League Baseball reduced the number of affiliated minor-league teams from about 160 to 120. Duff said the team and county pursued a master plan and elected to renovate Vista Stadium—estimated in the $20,000,000 range—rather than build a new facility, which an earlier estimate placed at more than $100 million.

Funding and partners: Duff said the renovation effort was a public-private partnership involving the team, Spokane County (the stadium owner), the City of Spokane Valley and the State of Washington, which provided significant funding. He also described outreach to other local governments and credited Spokane County and Spokane Valley with stepping up to help the project meet MLB’s requirements on the accelerated timeline.

Community and cultural partnerships: Duff described a long-standing relationship with the Spokane Tribe that informed the team’s use of the “Spokane Indians” name and the inclusion of Salish script and tribal symbols on jerseys and hats. “We are a team that's truly named after the Spokane tribe,” Duff said. He said the collaboration has included language-preservation elements and that the team’s Salish-script jersey is on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Other community initiatives: Duff outlined several community-facing programs tied to the team’s branding and sustainability goals, including a zero-waste campaign with multi-stream recycling and compost stations and themed mascot fundraising campaigns tied to local priorities. He also described the “Fly Together” partnership with Fairchild Air Force Base, which includes merchandise sales with donation components and family outreach events.

Operational details and season outlook: Vista Stadium seats just over 6,800 people. Duff said the club averages roughly 4,000 fans per game overall, with summer games averaging more than 5,000. For 2025 the team planned 21 fireworks nights and family-oriented promotional events; Duff said 30 players had reported for the season at the time of the interview and the club expected a competitive roster.

What was not decided here: The interview covered planning, partnerships and completed fundraising but did not record any formal county votes, contracts, ordinance actions or specific timetable for remaining construction milestones. Duff and Cooney discussed the sources of funding in general terms (team, county, city and state contributions) and cited state assistance without naming specific grant program titles or award amounts during the segment.

Where to learn more: Duff directed viewers to the team website, spokenindiansbaseball.com, and the stadium box office for schedules and ticketing.