KREM 2 Spokane Shock Investigation

After the Spokane Public Facilities District terminated the Use Agreement of the Spokane Shock on Thursday, the Spokane Arena announced Friday that all season and single game ticket holders for the 2022 season, who purchased tickets through TicketsWest, will receive a full refund. 

TicketsWest holders will be able to receive a refund on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Spokane Arena Marketing Manager Holly Williams said on a press release that refunds should be reflected on ticket holder’s credit card statements within 7-10 business days. Ticket holders do not need to request a refund as refunds will be process automatically.

Any season ticket holder who bought tickets prior to the 2022 season will need to contact the Spokane Shock for any refunds.

Williams said they are very disappointed in the turn of events which lead to the termination of the Spokane Shock. 

"The Spokane Public Facilities District believed in the team as a community asset and the potential impact they would have within our community and fan base," Williams said. "The unfortunate circumstance has left the football community hurting and we hope that this can help in the healing process. Spokane Arena Marketing Manager Holly Williams said."

Following Thursday's announcement that the Spokane Shock has been kicked out of the Indoor Football League (IFL), Shock owner Sam Adams said in an email obtained by KREM 2 that he would be applying for the team to play in the National Arena League (NAL).

However, the NAL told KREM 2 that they would not accept the team into their league.

KREM 2 confirmed with NAL Executive Director Joshua Blair that the league "will not entertain an application from the Spokane Shock."

Read the full story here.

The Spokane Shock has been kicked out of the Indoor Football League (IFL), according to a tweet from the IFL. Additionally, all Spokane Shock players have been released from their contracts.

The league previously told the KREM 2 Investigators it is unprecedented that at this point in the season, a team would not have secured a place to play their home games.

"Due to multiple issues in the Spokane market, including a dispute with the arena, the IFL board of directors have terminated the Spokane Shock effective immediately," the IFL said in a tweet.

Read the full story here.

KREM 2 has confirmed that Spokane Shock owner Sam Adams did not provide the Public Facilities District (PFD), which manages the Spokane Arena, with the $128,000 security bond needed to play at the arena this season.

This comes after the PFD gave Adams a 24-hour extension to make the payment on Wednesday.

Because Adams missed the 5 p.m. deadline to supply the security bond, the PFD says the Shock contract at the Spokane Arena will be terminated.

Read the full story here.

In two separate Washington State Department of Labor and Industries cases in King County, Sam Adams, the owner of the Spokane Shock, has been ordered to pay workers thousands of dollars in unpaid wages, according to court documents.

The court documents do not say if the people who filed the claims are current or former Shock employees. 

The cases were filed in Western Washington, where Adams currently resides.

In one of the cases, a judge issued a warrant in January 2022 calling on Adams to pay $3,301.94 in unpaid wages to an unnamed employee. Another case obtained by KREM 2 shows that a judge ordered Adams to pay another unnamed employee $6,040.24 in late August 2021. 

Between those two filings, Adams was ordered to pay a total of $9,342.18 in unpaid wages.

Read the full story here.

KREM 2 has confirmed that the Spokane Public Facilities District (PFD) has given Spokane Shock owner Sam Adams one more day to supply the $128,000 credit line needed to play at the arena this season.

The PFD originally set the deadline for Adams to supply the security bond as today. However, PFD CEO Stephanie Curran told KREM 2 that there was some confusion in how Adams interpreted the agreement with the arena, hence why the deadline was pushed back.

“[Adams] signed the agreement on 2/15 however I did not sign it until the following morning. Sam interpreted that we were counting from the date I signed even though we have been clear in our emails,” Curran told KREM 2. “While we do not agree with his interpretation, he has provided us a blank template for approval so we are going to honor his interpretation and give him until tomorrow at 5 p.m.”

If Adams misses the 5 p.m. deadline on Thursday to supply the security bond, the PFD says the Shock contract at the Spokane Arena will be terminated and the team can not play there this season.

We did reach out to Adams today but have not heard back.

The final deadline for the Spokane Shock to secure its place at the Spokane Arena is tomorrow.

Spokane Shock owner Sam Adams still has not provided a $128,000 security bond to the Spokane Public Facilities District (PFD), which manages the arena. If Adams doesn't provide that security bond by Wednesday, Feb. 23, his contract to play at the arena could be terminated.

PFD CEO Stephanie Curran told KREM 2 that Adams had a history of paying late throughout the 2021 season, so this year, he was required to pay the costs upfront.

Adams is technically already in default with the PFD, because the deadline for that security collateral was last Tuesday. When he missed that deadline, he was issued a default letter, and given five business days to comply.

KREM 2 News was in touch with the PFD today. We’re told they have been in touch with Adams, and he assures them the line of credit will be in place by Wednesday's deadline.

The Spokane Shock held tryouts for this season’s roster on Friday, Beb. 18. Anyone in the community was invited to Spokane Valley to show off their skills, in hopes of making the team.

The season starts on March 12, with the first game for the Shock scheduled for March 18.

Shock tickets are now available on the team’s website, an update from Thursday when there were no purchase options. However, tickets are still not available for purchase through Spokane Arena’s website.

The Spokane Shock season is officially scheduled to start on March 12, and the first game is slated for March 18. But tickets still aren't available for sale on the Spokane Arena's website. 

In fact, none of the Shock games are even listed right now on the arena's event calendar.

As of Thursday afternoon, if you click on the section to buy tickets on the Shock website, you can no longer purchase season tickets or single-game tickets. Tickets could be purchased via the Shock’s website as of at least 1 p.m. on Thursday but shortly after 2 p.m. when we looked again, that option was gone.

According to the Spokane Public Facilities District (PFD), no Shock events will be promoted until the $128,000 security bond is provided by Spokane Shock Adams.

The Spokane Shock team and Adams started taking deposits for 2020 season tickets, but the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several people told KREM 2 they started asking for their money back as early as March 2020. Three season ticket holders told KREM 2 they did get their refund, but only after they got their credit card company involved.

Of the 55 season ticket holders who spoke with KREM 2 via email, 40 of them provided the amount they are owed, which totals $18,273.

In a phone call with KREM 2, Adams said he’s authorized a number of refunds, claiming the money is being held up by online ticket merchant TicketSpice. In a statement to KREM 2, TicketSpice denied Adams’ claim.

Read the full story here.

The PFD did not receive the $128,000 security bond needed for the Spokane Shock to play at the Spokane Arena this year.

However, KREM 2 confirmed that Adams sent a signed contract to the PFD at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, 30 minutes past the deadline.

Below is the contract Adams signed:

PFD CEO Stephanie Curran said they will accept the contract, but the line of credit is still needed in order to have a contract with the PFD.

Because the deadline passed without payment, the PFD issued Adams a default letter, a formal letter sent by a creditor as a result of missed payments on a credit agreement. 

Below is the default letter Adams received from the PFD:

Adams was given until Wednesday, Feb. 23 to submit the payment, otherwise, the PFD said the Spokane Shock contract will be terminated.

Read the full story here.

The Indoor Football League (IFL) season officially starts March 12, and the Spokane Shock is set to have its first game of the 2022 season on March 18.

But, according to the PFD, which manages the Spokane Arena, there is still no contract in place with the team’s owner, Sam Adams.

“It concerns us,” PFD CEO Stephanie Curran told KREM 2. “Are we going to have a season or are we not?”

KREM 2 spoke with the Commissioner of the IFL, who said it is “unprecedented” to be this late in the season and not have a lease in place. 

KREM 2 also learned Adams still has not provided a $128,000 security bond, which is essentially proof of collateral to cover rent costs at the arena through the course of the season. This is in addition to the $153,000 Adams was asked to pay in advance to play Shock games at the arena this season.

“[PFD] sent him his contract in November [2021] and then the payment was due Dec. 31. And he missed that deadline,” Curran said. “And so we sent him a default letter, and then he gets five days to cure. He wired us money that did not clear the bank. Then we sent him a second default letter that he then sent us a check [for], but he told us to hold the check."

Curran said she explained to Adams that the PFD cannot hold the check and that the money needs to be in the bank.

"I'm a steward of public funds. I can't extend credit like a private business could, so everything has to be upfront," she explained. "He missed that deadline. And so we terminated his agreement.”

Read the full story here.