New B-ball Court Coming

[Skippy]

Idaho Central Credit Union Partners with ISU Athletics to Build New Court at Holt Arena

POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State Director of Athletics Jeff Tingey announced a partnership with Idaho Central Credit Union, on Monday, November 8. This partnership with ICCU will allow a new basketball court at Holt Arena to be built. Idaho Central Credit Union will own naming rights for the court at Holt and Reed Gym. The partnership is a substantial four year investment.

http://www.isubengals.com/news/2010/11/8/MBB_1108104208.aspx

Done, Frank!

 

[FormerISUSID]

Bradley, Always post just a paragraph or two, than the link as such....

http://www.isubengals.com/news/2010/11/8/MBB_1108104208.aspx

drives traffic to the site and helps with revenue!

No, more importantly, another deal struck by Jeff...still want to get rid of him folks? All the guy does is get stuff done. Great work by Jeff!

Frank

 

[SLCBengal]

That's great news!

I have a question along this line for Frank, Brad, or anybody else in the know... Naming the dome after Dubby was an extremely nice gesture, despite many who felt it was a slap at the students who funded it (it went from being called the ASISU Minidome to Holt Arena). However, did changing the name to "Holt Arena" take away any chance of selling naming rights to it for the future? I've seen this alluded to elsewhere, and I'm curious...

UVU recently sold the naming rights of its arena to a local credit union for $2.5 million for the next 10 years. It was called the McKay Events Center, but the McKay family suggested taking their name off so UVU could sell naming rights to it. It seems like it would be a touchy subject for ISU in the future, because some would see it as a disrespectful slap at Dubby Holt if his name was taken off... Did ISU take away a potential revenue source, or is it something that's workable should the opportunity exist?

 

[Skippy]

I've seen many schools sell naming rights to fields and stadiums that were originally named in honor of coaches or athletic directors. It's always uncomfortable, but sometimes a school has to do it. In the case of the Minidome, aka Holt, ISU has also renamed the football field in honor of Dubby's good buddy and comrade Babe Caccia. So you have Babe Caccia Field in Holt Arena, and I have a hard time believing they would sell those names just a couple of years after naming the field in Babe's honor. But I'm also realistic enough to know that if the opportunity for a big naming rights fee came along, they might have to take it.

My good friend Jim Fox was instrumental in getting the Dome renamed for Dubby, and I understand why he did it. Dubby was, without a doubt, the most influential person in the history of ISU athletics -- from being a great athlete in his own right, to winning a national title as a coach, to being a successful athletic director. On top of all that, he truly was the brains and the energy behind building the dome. I know a lot of people feel the dome has "boxed in" ISU now, and maybe it has. But you can't deny it has provided 40 years of great entertainment to students and the citizens of Pocatello. From Fleetwood Mac to a national championship team to decades of the Dodge Circuit Finals Rodeo. And, to cap off his contribution to Pocatello, Dubby left the money to build the electronic sign board outside the dome.

So I guess ISU could eventually sell the naming rights to the Dome, or the football field, but I would hope they would wait a respectable amount of time after Babe's death to do so. And I would think they can come up with a creative way to keep the Holt/Caccia names and still get a naming sponsor.

 

[FormerISUSID]

I always thought you could name the entire sports complex counting the practice fields, Holt, parking lots, everything ... the BengalCub Sports Complex if you will. I think you can re-name the stadium at this points...it has been Holt Arena for 16 years I believe.

In this era...money talks.

Frank

 

[tigersmilk]

I always thought you could name the entire sports complex counting the practice fields, Holt, parking lots, everything ... the BengalCub Sports Complex if you will. I think you can re-name the stadium at this points...it has been Holt Arena for 16 years I believe.

In this era...money talks.

Frank

great points frank. tingey has his work cut out for him but he really does seem to be stepping up more and more as his career has progressed. better now than never and it's good to see an AD who isn't primarily focused on building his own empire and using the position to serve his own purposes. i believe jeff can lead us out of this "recession" albeit tiny steps at a time.

 

[biobengal]

I know a lot of people feel the dome has "boxed in" ISU now, and maybe it has. But you can't deny it has provided 40 years of great entertainment to students and the citizens of Pocatello. From Fleetwood Mac to a national championship team to decades of the Dodge Circuit Finals Rodeo. And, to cap off his contribution to Pocatello, Dubby left the money to build the electronic sign board outside the dome.

This may not make sense to a lot of people but I think the Mini-Dome is one of the worst things (outside of losing its two main rivals) to ever happen to ISU athletics.

 

[tuffgong]

Congrats to Jeff and those who made this happen, I love it.. I hear from credible sources that we are inching closer to a new football playing surface, too. That is your opinion, bio, cuz I for one, love Holt.. 90% of the best/most memorable sporting moments in my life, have happened in that building..

 

[mighty_bengals]

I'm not sure if anyone here understands bio's train of thought. Because the reality is that Holt has served the people of SE Idaho very well for the last 40 years. Now Holt just needs about $20 million worth of improvements and we don't know where we'll get the money for it.

 

[Skippy]

All stadiums need ongoing maintenance. The biggest issue at Idaho State was 25 years of neglect for the existing facilities, and no investment in new facilites. Holt is unique, however, in that a dome makes it that much more difficult to expand, reconfigure or remodel than an "outdoor stadium," which is nothing more than a bunch of concrete poured in grandstand configurations. With a dome, you have heating and ventilation systems to worry about, not to mention a roof that limits your ability to build up and out. It certainly complicates matters.

The dome has provided 40 years of great experiences for Pocatellans. It was a relatively cheap investment at the time, and the maintenance people at ISU have performed miracles to keep it functional on a shoestring budget over the years. Kudos to Jeff Tingey, Donna Hayes and staff for the incremental improvements -- the new video board, remodeled lockerooms, and, soon we are told, new turf. I would think next steps would include new coaching offices and better bathroom and concession facilities. NAU's dome is undergoing a major makeover this fall to address those kinds of amenities.

We'd all love for ISU to have the resources to build a new outdoor football stadium and a basketball-only arena, but in the interim, it's good to see the significant steps that are being taken to "work with what we have," so to speak.

 

[spudbowl]

I understand how it can be argued that in the long term the dome hurt ISU athletics. But what would have happened to ISU sports without it? Imagine a post 1969 without the dome. It would mean no NCAA BB playoffs games in 1974 and 1977. It would have met Killingsworth (assuming he would have come here) would have had to recruit to Reed Gym. They played games in the middle of the football field but I remember 8,000, 9000 for some Big Sky games so it was a big time venue. Do we still beat UCLA in 1977 without the dome? Could have Killingsworth recruited Cook, Griffen and Thompson to play in Reed?

The football team would have kept playing at the Spud Bowl. Would have we even had football in 1980 when Kragthorpe arrived? We certainly wouldn't had hosted playoffs game at the Spud Bowl?

Would have we built a new bb arena and new outdoor football field? The Idaho economy started to decline in the late 1970s, where would of the money had come from?

So, the dome made us complacent, it allowed Poky to free ride on the dome, etc. But, gee without the dome there is quite likely no 1977 and no 1981 and without those two years, my 40+ years as a Bengal fan would really, really stink.

I think that you could make the case that without the dome, we might be a DII or NAIA school.

 

[nonotagain]

Bradley, Always post just a paragraph or two, than the link as such....

http://www.isubengals.com/news/2010/11/8/MBB_1108104208.aspx

drives traffic to the site and helps with revenue!

No, more importantly, another deal struck by Jeff...still want to get rid of him folks? All the guy does is get stuff done. Great work by Jeff!

Frank

Frank you are no longer collecting a paycheck from ISU you can quit sucking up now. Tingey hasn't done a single thing to do what he is there to do - run an ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT. Ironic the new floor is from a financial institution since that is the #1 priority of the Tingey regime. How about winning some games????

 

[bhumble]

Bradley, Always post just a paragraph or two, than the link as such....

http://www.isubengals.com/news/2010/11/8/MBB_1108104208.aspx

drives traffic to the site and helps with revenue!

No, more importantly, another deal struck by Jeff...still want to get rid of him folks? All the guy does is get stuff done. Great work by Jeff!

Frank

Frank,
I would love to see Tingey leave. He has done a hell of a job with the football program now hasn't he? Tingey is a joke and he needs to get on the same bus as Z and get out of town. I don't give a rats ass about his new BBall court. Show me the wins. His football program is a joke just like he is. To use your words Frank "Great job Jeff!" Now pack your shit and get out of town because you have run this program into the ground. What a joke. He makes me want to puke.

 

[JJB]

What a bunch of idiots.

How in the Hell do you expect ISU to win with the piss poor facilities is has to recruit to?

How much do you think a basketball court costs? One of the courts that was used for the NCAA tournament this year was sold to an arena for just under $100,000. That's $100,000 that ISU can use to take care of something else. That's $100,000 that no other athletic director ever received for facilities.

Everybody wants wins, but they are so ignorant to realize that the infrastructure has been one of the biggest reasons why ISU hasn't got them.

 

[bengalcub]

What a bunch of idiots.

How in the Hell do you expect ISU to win with the piss poor facilities is has to recruit to?

How much do you think a basketball court costs? One of the courts that was used for the NCAA tournament this year was sold to an arena for just under $100,000. That's $100,000 that ISU can use to take care of something else. That's $100,000 that no other athletic director ever received for facilities.

Everybody wants wins, but they are so ignorant to realize that the infrastructure has been one of the biggest reasons why ISU hasn't got them.

And another +1...

 

[bhumble]

What a bunch of idiots.

How in the Hell do you expect ISU to win with the piss poor facilities is has to recruit to?

How much do you think a basketball court costs? One of the courts that was used for the NCAA tournament this year was sold to an arena for just under $100,000. That's $100,000 that ISU can use to take care of something else. That's $100,000 that no other athletic director ever received for facilities.

Everybody wants wins, but they are so ignorant to realize that the infrastructure has been one of the biggest reasons why ISU hasn't got them.

I'm sure the recruits will poor in now we have a new floor. After we get the new floor Tingey will probably move the games back to Reed, again.

 

[biobengal]

What a bunch of idiots.

How in the Hell do you expect ISU to win with the piss poor facilities is has to recruit to?

How much do you think a basketball court costs? One of the courts that was used for the NCAA tournament this year was sold to an arena for just under $100,000. That's $100,000 that ISU can use to take care of something else. That's $100,000 that no other athletic director ever received for facilities.

Everybody wants wins, but they are so ignorant to realize that the infrastructure has been one of the biggest reasons why ISU hasn't got them.

I'm sure the recruits will poor in now we have a new floor. After we get the new floor Tingey will probably move the games back to Reed, again.

That's funny.... it wouldn't be without precedent.

 

[nonotagain]

What a bunch of idiots.

How in the Hell do you expect ISU to win with the piss poor facilities is has to recruit to?

How much do you think a basketball court costs? One of the courts that was used for the NCAA tournament this year was sold to an arena for just under $100,000. That's $100,000 that ISU can use to take care of something else. That's $100,000 that no other athletic director ever received for facilities.

Everybody wants wins, but they are so ignorant to realize that the infrastructure has been one of the biggest reasons why ISU hasn't got them.

I agree. Kids are stupid and are going to be drawn like moths to a flame for a new basketball court. Who cares about winning games? Hey, maybe we could have ICCU buy one of the used tournament floors and we can tell the kids they are guaranteed to play on a tournament court when they sign with ISU. Come on, get real!

 

[baller1]

It boggles my mind how so-called ISU fans can get on here and talk trash about the athletic department landing this sponsorship. I'm now completely convinced that, as a Bengal fan, I'm surrounded by idiots. Get real people this is a good thing and should be applauded.

 

[notabengalalum]

Speaking of courts and floors, Arizona is wiping their floor with the Bengals by about 50 points right now! Maybe the b-ball team was caught up in the emotion of the Zamberlin issue.