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Bengal Village

B

biobengal

Active member
I'm curious, has there been any change to the plans for Bengal Village since the failed bond in Poky? Specifically, is ISU still looking to "dump" money into remodling Holt?

I've read a lot of internet chatter lately, the common theme: "get rid of Holt Arena". While I would love to see it, I suspect ISU teams will be playing in a 12,000 seat Holt Arena until D2 finally overtakes them.

Anyone heard anything different?

Interesting thread from UI message board.... pay special attention to all the "big time" schools that have built basketball stadiums in the last 10 years. :roll:

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=205&f=2661&t=4576715
 
I wouldn't refer to it as dumping money into it, but the plan is still to renovate....otherwise why do through with the locker room project and the video board? And just to emphasize....Idaho State is not, nor will it ever go to Division II. One guy, Steve Crump, who used to live in Pocatello and HATES Pocatello, stated that ISU should do that in the Twin Falls paper....one guy. That's it. No one had ever even mentioned it until that dumb op-ed piece, of which, my edited response will be running next week, and we have a plan in place through the P.R. office and mine on educating folks on some of these issues, and that will happen in probably a few weeks.

ISUSID
 
Biobengal, about a year I had talked with an ISU administrator as to what they're now going to do since the bond failed, and honestly, he wasn't sure what they're going to do. Because $20 million is a lot of money to try to raise, and I think it's doubtful that the ISU student body would vote to raise their fees to cover this amount.

But from what I gather from sources is that once the softball field and practice field is completed, then they'll try to raise the money for a new turf, and then a new pressbox, and then whatever else they can raise for dome improvements. ISU SID may correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is how things are prioritized. And raising about $20 million for a new gym is on the backburner right now, because we're committed to fielding a competitive football team at the 1-AA level, and committed to making dome improvements. And we can always play our men's and women's games in the dome as long as we need to -- or at Reed Gym if we have to play there.

Concerning the failed $20 million bond that the Poky and Chubbuck residents failed to pass -- one prominent Pocatello attorney told me that he felt that the bond proposal wasn't presented properly to the public. Although I know it's always been very difficult to pass any kind of bond in Pocatello.
 
The softball field will be built between Reed Gym and the Rendevous Center this winter. The Football practice field is scheduled to be improved as well.
 
I agree Holt needs to go, its too old school even renovating it isn't worth it and sadly must be feasible if its really gonna happen. Building an outdoor stadium like everyone else would be much better. I think Holt hurts recruitment more than anything else. Leaving holt to be an indoor practice facility - even better!

How much renovation will be done? Some or all?

The community uses Holt as much or more than ISU does yet they will not back ISU or give a dime for it.
 
Holt will be fine, so long as the necessary renovations will be completed. South Dakota, NAU, Syracuse, and Idaho don't have any plans for junking their domed stadiums -- and neither do we. Former AD Paul Bubb said that our dome would be worth about $80 million if one were to be built today, although I find that figure a little hard to believe. I think if a new outdoor stadium were to be built, then it would cost about $30 million or so, and it's much more feasible to just renovate our dome for about $20 million. No, the dome will suit us just fine once the renovations are completed, and we'll get that done as soon as more money comes in -- one thing at a time. It doesn't make any sense to just trash your Stewart Stadium and build a new one for $30 million, neither does it make any sense to trash our dome and build a new outdoor stadium. BTW, good job with your pressbox that was completed a few years ago.
 
boisebengal said:
Holt will be fine, so long as the necessary renovations will be completed. South Dakota, NAU, Syracuse, and Idaho don't have any plans for junking their domed stadiums -- and neither do we. Former AD Paul Bubb said that our dome would be worth about $80 million if one were to be built today, although I find that figure a little hard to believe. I think if a new outdoor stadium were to be built, then it would cost about $30 million or so, and it's much more feasible to just renovate our dome for about $20 million. No, the dome will suit us just fine once the renovations are completed, and we'll get that done as soon as more money comes in -- one thing at a time. It doesn't make any sense to just trash your Stewart Stadium and build a new one for $30 million, neither does it make any sense to trash our dome and build a new outdoor stadium. BTW, good job with your pressbox that was completed a few years ago.
Click to expand...


It is a much nicer pressbox than it used to be.
 
I love an outdoor game in nice fall weather. But when the whether isn't so nice.... Plus, Holt provides great viewing angles, with the bleachers elevated and close to the sideline. So I'm all for renovating Holt. Installing translucent panels on the north and south ends to let in natural light like Idaho has done would be a great improvement. Improved turf is also a must.
 
So we ARE making some progress. This is good! The softball team needs a new, good field, as they will be competing in a conference this year (and with most of the team returning from a 20-win season campaign, this will hopefully be a great year to capitalize on an NCAA appearance and thus more publicity).

Concerning Paul Bubb, I actually agree that building a domed stadium TODAY would cost around $80 million. The reason is is that structuring and materials alone have soared in prices since the 1970's when Holt was built. Add in seats, new pressboxes, the extra work in heating equipment and venilation, lights, and little things like getting everything up to current safety regulations and you have yourself a very expensive baby to build.

Personally, I'd love an outdoor stadium. Domed stadiums are harder to renovate and expand.

And yes, that bond failed miserably because of the incredible hack job done by the City (presenting a bond and giving it weeks of polarized debate is just stupid and suicidal) and should have been debated on intelligently for several months (giving it time to make solid, intelligent changes and amendments).
 
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