For those of you that like creative new arenas..University of Idaho

[Ikibari]

Is finishing its new arena ready for the fall. 4,500 hundred seats and state of the art for the first time in program history. It copies some Canadian engineering and the first of its kind in the modern US being build using Idaho timber from University of Idaho timber research forests in northern Idaho. This is a major upgrade from splitting the Kibbie Dome in half. Here are some drawings and some real pictures of it so far...4500 seats, conference area, and practice floor. The waves at the top or to represent the rolling hills of the Palouse. Anyways, thought some might like to see something unique! Campus is five miles from WSU and just over an hour from EWU and Gonzanga. Would be awesome if Zags played a game there.

 

[Random UK Fan]

That’s really nice. Rupp Arena could use some esthetics. It’s so big!

That’s what she said.

 

[Ikibari]

That’s really nice. Rupp Arena could use some esthetics. It’s so big!

That’s what she said.

I did a random weekend in Lexington a few summers ago, just as Kroger field was being renovated. It was hot as hell. Anyways, I was trying to get a glimpse into Rupp and I ended up having to go through like a mall and up this hot little hallway and peeked in the window. Was surprised how big but older it looked compared to seeing it on television. Y’all putting the blue seat backs in the upper deck since then was a big aesthetic upgrade. Still was surprised I was expecting like a standalone arena, but cool how it was in town.

 

[Random UK Fan]

I did a random weekend in Lexington a few summers ago, just as Kroger field was being renovated. It was hot as hell. Anyways, I was trying to get a glimpse into Rupp and I ended up having to go through like a mall and up this hot little hallway and peeked in the window. Was surprised how big but older it looked compared to seeing it on television. Y’all putting the blue seat backs in the upper deck since then was a big aesthetic upgrade. Still was surprised I was expecting like a standalone arena, but cool how it was in town.

Yeah, the local stores/shopping area is pretty nice/unique. It’s as dated as a big, square building can get. I wish it just had a bit more character.

 

[JimboBBN]

Very cool looking. I like the modern look for most programs. Would be a fun place to play in!

 

[duckboy33]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing

 

[Villian07]

Yea that’s a pretty sweet ass arena. I like the rustic (if that’s the right word) feel while also being state or the art and modern.

I feel like that practice court is 100x cooler than the actual game floor and seating, but I imagine there are plenty of schools with badass practice courts.

The inside photos of the seats and the floor almost has a high school gym feel to it.

 

[WeAreDePaul]

thanks for posting, that's really cool to see. Wish more arenas would try and look pretty like this as opposed to just worrying about the infrastructure.

 

[dukedevilz]

Looks great. Idaho administrators must be trying to one-up the smurf turf for national attention.

 

[829305]

Is finishing its new arena ready for the fall. 4,500 hundred seats and state of the art for the first time in program history. It copies some Canadian engineering and the first of its kind in the modern US being build using Idaho timber from University of Idaho timber research forests in northern Idaho. This is a major upgrade from splitting the Kibbie Dome in half. Here are some drawings and some real pictures of it so far...4500 seats, conference area, and practice floor. The waves at the top or to represent the rolling hills of the Palouse. Anyways, thought some might like to see something unique! Campus is five miles from WSU and just over an hour from EWU and Gonzanga. Would be awesome if Zags played a game there.

Very cool. One of my favorite students ever is on the basketball team there. If you're a fan of the team you won't meet a better young man than AJ. He's a fitting last name, ha.

 

[Villian07]

Damn bro you gotta tell us his last name now.

Cant imagine many here are familiar with anyone on the Idaho basketball team......ever.

I’m gonna show off my lack of geography skills but it’s only 5 miles from Washington States campus??? Is that correct or a typo? that’s seems insane to have two colleges so close together in a part of the country that’s not very metropolitan.

Boise is the only city in Idaho I can even name so obv this is not my wheelhouse.

 

[sgrooms]

Damn bro you gotta tell us his last name now.

Cant imagine many here are familiar with anyone on the Idaho basketball team......ever.

I’m gonna show off my lack of geography skills but it’s only 5 miles from Washington States campus??? Is that correct or a typo? that’s seems insane to have two colleges so close together in a part of the country that’s not very metropolitan.

Boise is the only city in Idaho I can even name so obv this is not my wheelhouse.

AJ Youngman

 

[Villian07]

Damn I was hoping for some Peter jurkin or coffee cock burn type madness.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

I like checking out Zillow and noticed some sweet condos in Boise also.

 

[Kevin Bryan]

That's bad ass.

 

[WojoRising]

This is just beautiful. I’d have to imagine a beautiful arena has to be an unparalleled recruiting tool amongst these smaller schools.

 

[Sound.Slave]

I dig it

 

[829305]

Cant imagine many here are familiar with anyone on the Idaho basketball team......ever.

Agreed, but thought maybe OP was a fan.

 

[Ikibari]

Very cool. One of my favorite students ever is on the basketball team there. If you're a fan of the team you won't meet a better young man than AJ. He's a fitting last name, ha.

I went to graduate school there and so I keep track of what they’re up to - at least I try to from across the country. Northern Idaho (where U of I is) is more like Montana than the high desert around Boise. I just thought it was a pretty unique way to try and find a niche to recruit and market a program kind of in the middle of nowhere. The student gym area is kind of similar with open wood rafters and it feels like you’re in a log cabin.

I think they’re embracing their size and trying to update the facilities to be less about size and more reflective of the area and market that way. To fill an hour when I was working on my thesis I took a fly fishing PE class and I really couldn’t have picked a better location to learn that skill I still enjoy today!

To show what kind of upgrade this is for the teams, this is the court inside the Kibbie Dome

 

[Ikibari]

Damn bro you gotta tell us his last name now.

Cant imagine many here are familiar with anyone on the Idaho basketball team......ever.

I’m gonna show off my lack of geography skills but it’s only 5 miles from Washington States campus??? Is that correct or a typo? that’s seems insane to have two colleges so close together in a part of the country that’s not very metropolitan.

Boise is the only city in Idaho I can even name so obv this is not my wheelhouse.

Yep, Moscow is probably 6-7 hours drive from Boise as it’s up in the skinnier part right on the Washington line. Pullman is just on the other side of the state line. Many students will bike between the two towns. The closest city is Spokane about 70 minutes north and then after than it’s either Boise or Seattle as the second closest. I also added an aerial of the airport that’s in between the two towns to show just how isolated it is in the Palouse. IMO one of the prettiest areas of the country and very few know about it. Sorry, not trying to sound like a brochure, just trying to describe the area.

 

[Villian07]

Haha damn Moscow, Idaho 😂

At first I thought you were being a smarta$$ when you said 6-7 hour drive to Moscow. Like chick that could see Russia from Alaska lol.

Learn something new every day on here. Pretty cool, had no idea what town WSU was in either kept thinking Corvallis but that’s Oregon State. Pretty cool the campuses are so close. They should have played basketball like 7-8 times this year bc of covid.

Is that an airport or the campus???

 

[Ikibari]

Haha damn Moscow, Idaho 😂

At first I thought you were being a smarta$$ when you said 6-7 hour drive to Moscow. Like chick that could see Russia from Alaska lol.

Learn something new every day on here. Pretty cool, had no idea what town WSU was in either kept thinking Corvallis but that’s Oregon State. Pretty cool the campuses are so close. They should have played basketball like 7-8 times this year bc of covid.

Is that an airport or the campus???

That’s the airport. Here is the campus and most of the town of Moscow (about 20k population). The basketball arena is being built just behind the round dome on the bottom left. You can see the Kibbie Dome in the background of a picture in my OP. I loved it.

 

[Villian07]

Must say that’s a beautiful pic 👍