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ICCU Dome

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Coordinates: 42°52′12″N 112°25′44″W / 42.870°N 112.429°W / 42.870; -112.429
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Holt Arena
View from northeast in 2008
Map
Pocatello is located in the United States
Pocatello
Pocatello
Location in the United States
Pocatello is located in Idaho
Pocatello
Pocatello
Location in Idaho
Former namesASISU Minidome
(1970–1988)
Address550 Memorial Drive
LocationIdaho State University
Pocatello, Idaho, U.S.
Coordinates42°52′12″N 112°25′44″W / 42.870°N 112.429°W / 42.870; -112.429
Public transitPocatello Regional Transit
OwnerIdaho State University
OperatorIdaho State University
Capacity12,000 - football
  8,000 - basketball
Record attendance13,895 (football)
November 22, 1980
ISU vs. Boise State[1]
SurfaceSoftTop Matrix
artificial turf (2011–)
Poly-Turf,[2][3] AstroTurf
(1970–2010)
Construction
Broke groundOctober 1, 1968
OpenedMay 9, 1970; 54 years ago (1970-05-09)
(spring game)[4][6]
Renovated2022-2023
Construction cost$2.8 million[3][4]
($22 million in 2024 [5])
Tenants
Idaho State Bengals (Big Sky, NCAA)
(1970–present)
Website
isu.edu/events/holtarena.shtml

Holt Arena is an indoor multi-purpose athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of Idaho State University (ISU) in Pocatello, Idaho. It is the home field of the Idaho State Bengals of the Big Sky Conference and sits at an elevation of 4,560 feet (1,390 m) above sea level.[7]

History

Originally named the ASISU Minidome—named after the Associated Students of Idaho State University, who funded construction[8]—it opened 54 years ago in 1970 at the north end of the ISU campus.[2][4] The indoor facility replaced the outdoor "Spud Bowl" as the Bengals' home football stadium.[4][9] Its first event was the Bengals' spring football game on May 9, held on a rainy Saturday night.[4][6]

The venue was renamed in 1988 to honor Milton W. "Dubby" Holt (1914–2007),[10][11] ISU's athletic director from 1967 to 1989. As assistant athletic director, Holt conceived the indoor arena in 1966 and it was designed by architect Cedric M. Allen. Although a controversial design proposal for the time, ISU students voted to appropriate not more than $2.8 million to the project two years later.[4] The arena was built entirely with these voluntary student funds.[12] With over 56% in favor, ISU students approved a $12 increase in semester fees to fund the stadium in early 1968.[13][14]

Holt Arena is the oldest enclosed stadium on a college campus in the United States and the second-oldest overall.[15] Only the Astrodome in Houston, completed in 1965, predates it. Since the Astrodome's closure in 2006, Holt Arena has been the oldest enclosed stadium in use.[16] The football field is aligned east-west and the arched roof runs length-wise; maximum height is above midfield and decreases toward the endzones.

The original artificial turf installed in 1970 was Poly-Turf.[2][3][4] After 41 football seasons on Poly-Turf and AstroTurf, infilled synthetic turf was installed in Holt Arena in July 2011. Similar to FieldTurf, the SoftTop Removable Matrix System[17] is also installed in AT&T Stadium in the NFL.

Holt Arena underwent major renovations planned to be completed by the 2023 season. A new turf was designed as part of the renovations.[18][needs update]

Additional uses

Holt Arena also serves as home for the ISU indoor track and field team and men's basketball team. It also hosts high school football games, the famous Simplot Games high school indoor track meet, along with other sporting events, rodeos, concerts, and other activities.

During ISU's run in basketball to the Elite Eight in 1977, they won the Big Sky regular season title, which allowed them to host the four-team conference tournament,[19] which they also won.[20] The Bengals were allowed to stay home for the first round of the 32-team NCAA tournament, as the Minidome had a pair of first round games (sub-regionals) on Saturday, March 12.[21][22] UCLA defeated Louisville and hometown ISU beat Long Beach State. (Five days later, Idaho State stunned UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen at the West regional in Provo, Utah.)[23][24] Between the Big Sky tourney and the NCAA games, the venue also hosted the state's three-day A-1 (now 5A) high school championship tournament.[25]

Following the success of the Minidome, several other colleges built enclosed stadiums, including the Kibbie Dome at the University of Idaho in Moscow, which was enclosed in 1975 after four years as an outdoor stadium, and the Walkup Skydome at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, opened in 1977.

It is one of three indoor football stadiums currently in use in the Big Sky Conference, along with the Kibbie Dome and Walkup Skydome. During the final six seasons of Idaho's absence from Big Sky football (2012–2017), the Alerus Center at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks was another indoor stadium used in Big Sky football, but UND left the Big Sky after the 2017 football season for the Missouri Valley Football Conference, home to three other football programs that play in domes (North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, and South Dakota).

Holt Arena features 194,400 square feet (18,060 m2) of floor space; the building is recessed twenty feet (6 m) below grade and rises 89 feet (27 m) above grade at its highest point.[12]

Holt Arena hosted the 2018 convention of the Idaho Republican Party in late June.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ Idaho State Bengals | Holt Arena, ChampionshipSubdivision.com. (accessed 4 September 2013)
  2. ^ a b c "'Mini-Dome' just first of new Big Sky stadia". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 13, 1970. p. 10, fb.
  3. ^ a b c Checketts, Brent (February 19, 1970). "Pocatello's Mini-Dome Serves Maxi-Purpose". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B-14.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Ferguson, George (May 12, 1970). "Idaho State: What a Mini!". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. C-1.
  5. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Spring game will open ISU dome". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. May 9, 1970. p. 12.
  7. ^ USGS topographic map of Holt Arena. MSR Maps. Accessed 6 January 2008.
  8. ^ "Decision Likely Next Week on Dome Name". Idaho State Journal. Pocatello, Idaho. October 31, 1969. p. 2. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via newspaper.com.
  9. ^ "Idaho rivalry flares anew at Spud Bowl". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 16, 1963. p. 8.
  10. ^ Missildine, Harry (January 9, 1989). "Dubby started some things". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 13.
  11. ^ "Idaho State icon Dubby Holt dies". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 9, 2007. p. C1.
  12. ^ a b Holt Arena Archived 2009-11-06 at the Wayback Machine, Idaho Public Television. (accessed 4 September 2013)
  13. ^ "ISU students vote on site". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. January 11, 1968. p. 21.
  14. ^ "Idaho students vote to build domed stadium". Miami News. Associated Press. January 13, 1968. p. 3B.
  15. ^ Facilities - Idaho State University Bengals Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 6 January 2008
  16. ^ "Astrodome Hit With Code Violations". click2houston.com. Archived from the original on 2008-07-22. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  17. ^ ISUBengals.com - Hellas Construction to Install New Holt Arena Turf - 2011-06-02 - accessed 2011-09-22
  18. ^ "Holt Arena to Undergo Major Renovation Project". Idaho State University. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  19. ^ "Gonzaga, Montana State in tough but not without chances". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 4, 1977. p. 31.
  20. ^ Missildine, Harry (March 6, 1977). "Idaho State dumps Weber, earns title and NCAA berth". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D2.
  21. ^ "NCAA pairings". Milwaukee Sentinel. March 12, 1977. p. 2, part 2.
  22. ^ McDermott, Barry (March 21, 1977). "The Sixteen Sweetest Fight For A Kiss". Sports Illustrated. p. 28.
  23. ^ Benson, Lee (March 18, 1977). "Utes fall short, Idaho State stuns UCLA". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6B.
  24. ^ "Amazin' Bengals knock out UCLA". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 18, 1977. p. 29.
  25. ^ "Hoop scores: Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 12, 1977. p. 11.
  26. ^ "Hotel Information". idgop.org. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018 – via Wayback Machine.
Preceded by Host of the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship Game
1987–1988 		Succeeded by
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