Willi Aigner, a Portland, Ore., man who owns an indoor soccer facility there, plans to open a similar facility in the Spokane Valley by fall, says Brian Dreves, who will manage the soccer center here.


The facility, which will be called the Spokane Soccer Center, is expected to open Oct. 1 and will serve both youth and adult soccer teams, says Dreves, who once played soccer for Whitworth College here.


Soccer is really going crazy in Spokane, he says.


The facility, which will feature one indoor soccer field and a pro shop, will be built at 7320 E. Nora near Park Road. Jon Hawley, of PBI Construction Inc., of Spokane, says PBI designed and will erect the 22,000-square-foot steel building. Construction of the $500,000 facility was expected to begin this week and to be finished in about three and a half months, he says.


The artificial-turf field at the soccer center will measure 185 feet long by 85 feet wide, which is the official size of an indoor soccer field, Dreves says. By comparison, outdoor soccer fields are 120 yards by 75 yards.


Dreves says he expects the facility will employ three to five people and will contract with another about 25 referees to officiate games held there. The facility will be open seven days a week, and he says that its expected to be most popular during the winter months.


The facility will recruit soccer teams to play in eight-week scheduled competitive seasons, which are expected to cost $450 per team, Dreves says. Besides soccer, other sports, including arena flag football, might be played at the center.


The Portland facility, which is called the Oregon Soccer Center, operates from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. on some weekends, he says. Up to 200 teams have been accommodated in a single, eight-week season there, he adds.