May 23—Ryan and Katie Harnetiaux walked into the locker room at ONE Spokane Stadium at 9 a.m. Monday.

They had bad news.

Reading from a piece of paper, the Harnetiauxes announced the end of the Spokane Zephyr FC women's soccer team. They left without answering player questions.

"People were pretty angry," said Madelyn Desiano, a defender with the team. "People had lots of questions that we couldn't ask the owners because they walked out."

The owners indicated that Spokane could not support a top-level professional women's team and suggested they might try later with a lower-level squad.

Just like the team, the Harnetiauxes' official message to the community was silence.

Only after the urging of other officials, who had learned of the team's demise through social media, did the Harnetiauxes finally put out a message at the end of the business day on Wednesday that the Zephyr was no more.

"Over the past two seasons, you've helped bring professional women's soccer to life in Spokane," the unsigned message to fans said. "The energy, belief, and support you've shown this club have meant everything to our players and staff.

"After careful consideration, we have made the decision not to continue operating a professional women's team beyond the 2025/26 season."

The Harnetiauxes last week declined interview requests about the team, which had lagging attendance this past season while the owners, which also include Spokane developer Jordan Tampien, continually missed financial deadlines that have prompted the Spokane Public Facilities District to consider ending its 10-year contract with them.

What remains unspoken is the future of the men's Spokane Velocity FC, with a record of 5-1-2. The Velocity play at 4 p.m. Sunday against the Sarasota Paradise at ONE Spokane Stadium.

The Velocity, who play in the United Soccer League's League One, currently reside in third place in its division standings.

"At this time, we are not making additional comments," Ryan Harnetiaux said in a Friday email regarding the Zephyr.

"We are working on placing our players in new opportunities and will make additional statements to the public in a few weeks."

Bobby Brett, who owns the Spokane Indians baseball team and Spokane Chiefs hockey team, has spent decades managing minor-league teams in the Spokane area.

He said making a living from sports franchises is not easy.

"That's a hard business model," Brett said. "We've got to sell that advertising. To generate a profit, you have to sell, sell, sell. That's true for all minor -league sports."

Brett lost a bid to the Harnetiauxes to bring a minor -league team tied to the Major League Soccer Seattle Sounders to Spokane. He would not question the business model of the Harnetiauxes.

But he did notice that ONE Spokane Stadium does not have the same number of advertisements as those hung in Avista Stadium or the Spokane Arena, where the Chiefs play.

"There are a lot of things to do with your entertainment dollars," Brett said. "You've got to have a staff" to make sure the public is aware of every match.

Desiano, who played soccer for UCLA, questioned whether the Harnetiauxes did enough community outreach.

"I don't think that ownership and marketing did a good enough job getting the word out that we had a team here," she said. "We would go out to restaurants and people didn't know there was a professional soccer team."

The attendance showed.

While the Zephyr averaged about 2,000 ticket sales per game during their inaugural season in 2024-25, the team also gave away an average of 500 tickets per match.

With about 2,500 tickets sold or given out, an average of 1,550 fans attended the matches that season.

This past season, which ended May 16 with a 4-0 win over Brooklyn FC, far fewer fans came to the stadium, according to figures provided by the PFD.

The Zephyr, who just missed out on the four-team playoff, averaged 993 fans at their matches despite selling an average of 1,200 tickets and the team giving away another 374.

The stadium can seat about 5,000 people.

"We were so proud to have been a city that supports women's sports in this way, particularly at a professional level," said fan Katie Tolley.

Tolley, a mom who followed both Spokane soccer teams, said attending the matches was a family bonding activity.

Her 11-year-old daughter looks up to the players, whom Tolley described as supportive and engaged with residents.

"It's been a really great opportunity to talk to our daughter about opportunities and what she wants to do or be when she grows up," she said.

But the teams also left Tolley hanging.

On three occasions, Tolley said she filled out online forms to inquire about season tickets.

She never received a call or email reply.

Home for soccer

ONE Spokane stadium opened in September 2023. The $37.9 million outdoor stadium was built by Spokane Public Schools to become a home for sports teams from several area high schools.

It is also made available for events like concerts and was the selling point for professional soccer in the Lilac City.

Through a partnership, the school district contracts with the Public Facilities District to operate ONE Spokane Stadium during its projected 50-year lifespan.

Stephanie Curran, CEO of the PFD, said when they were approached by the Harnetiauxes regarding a soccer franchise, the PFD agreed to pay $4 million in upgrades to locker rooms and other amenities required to host two professional soccer teams.

In return, the company formed by the Harnetiauxes and Tampien, called Aequus Sports LLC, agreed to reimburse the PFD in two payments.

One of those was due last March and another $2 million payment is due in November 2027.

But Aequus Sports missed the deadline last year. Then in the summer, as the PFD board of directors was set to vote to end the contract, the Harnetiauxes and Tampien came up with the money.

But that's not the only deadline that has been missed.

As of late last week, Aequus had not paid a bill for about $87,000 that was due on April 1, Curran said.

"They have been late on every payment," Curran said. "But they have come through. I would say based on their track record of not making payments on time, I have concerns" about the $2 million payment due in 2027.

The bill from April actually is tied back to Bobby Brett.

The soccer team owners owe about $87,000 every three months because the Harnetiauxes wanted to be able to make revenue by selling the naming rights of ONE Spokane Stadium.

Those rights were held by Bobby Brett and Brett Sports, which held the naming rights for most of the properties managed by the PFD.

To give the Harnetiauxes more freedom to make money off the venue, the parties negotiated annual payments of about $370,000, which were split into equal payments that are due every three months.

"They needed the rights to sell the name of the stadium for a revenue stream," Curran said. "But they haven't sold the name."

She noted that a previous deal with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians to rename it the Northern Quest Resort & Casino Stadium fell through because the school district and PFD officials balked at having the "resort" in the name of a facility built to house high school sports.

Since then, nothing has materialized.

Regardless, the quarterly fees for the unused naming rights remain. Curran said the PFD recently sent a demand letter for the missed April 1 payment.

Tampien, who was the main financial backer for the Harnetiauxes, said he wasn't concerned about the demand letter from the PFD.

"So they are a little late on the April" payment, Tampien said. "Every time, it does get paid. Our goal is to make that not a habitual thing."

He noted that Curran and the PFD staff have been "awesome" to work with.

"We did two startups at the same time," Tampien said , referring to the men's and women's teams. "So, there are some of those growing pains that go with it."

As for the future of the women's team, Tampien said he isn't sure.

"Let's take a year off and see if Spokane will invest in their soccer teams," he said. "It was a business decision in the short term that will help in the long term. I'm very passionate that it stays a part of what we are trying to do here."

Asked why the naming rights to the stadium have not been sold, Tampien deferred comment to Ryan Harnetiaux.

As for the PFD, Curran said she has more concerns than the continually late payments from Aequus.

"We were doing everything we could to keep the two teams, but at a certain point of time, they need to pay," she said.

Curran noted that the PFD board chose the Harnetiaux bid with the United Soccer League over Bobby Brett's bid to bring in a minor -league men's team tied to Major League Soccer.

"When we were looking at USL and MLS, they were both bidding," she said. "But the other tipping point was USL had both a men's and a women's team. Having a women's team was a big difference changer for us."

Curran said she reached out to Ryan Harnetiaux last week to find out how they expect to proceed. Curran learned the women's team was disbanding not through Harnetiaux but through social media posts on Tuesday.

"Ryan explained that the league didn't want them to talk about this yet," Curran said. "They wanted to get through the playoffs."

News of the Zephyr's demise prompted Curran to reach out to the PFD's lawyer.

"What I do not know at this moment is if they are in breach of contract by not having this team," she said. "I do know our contract was for two teams."

She noted that if Aequus folds completely, that the PFD will be able to absorb the loss of the $2 million due in 2027.

"The PFD is not at any risk," Curran said. "But the better the teams do, the more tickets they sell, the better we do."