The preceding minor league ballpark in Spokane was Ferris Field, which was about a mile (1½ km) west, on the west side of Playfair Race Course. Named for city attorney George M. Ferris, its original wooden grandstand was built in 1936. Ferris was a former player and manager for the Indians who secured funding from the Works Progress Administration to build it. A fire in October 1948 damaged most of the grandstands, and it was rebuilt using concrete and steel in the spring of 1949.