[Vision2020] Vandals get $$ approved for upgrading diggs

[Steven Basoa]

And yet they can't come up with a measly $100,000 to help fund the  
bus service between the two universities...

SB


On Feb 23, 2007, at 2:53 PM, kerry becker wrote:

BOISE -- University of Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spear told the  
State Board of Education Thursday that new facilities are key to  
turning around losing Vandal teams.
"We have a vision in our department to become a premier athletic  
program," Spear said at the board's regular meeting at Boise State  
University.

New venues like a proposed $70 million events pavilion will go a long  
way toward recruiting the best athletes, Spear said.

"We have a small window to make a first impression," he said. "Thank  
God for our residential campus and our outstanding academic programs,  
because we can sell that."

The board unanimously approved the UI's request to spend up to $1.6  
million from a federal grant to proceed with conceptual designs for  
the proposed 6,000-seat, multipurpose pavilion. It would give a new  
home to Vandal basketball, the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and other  
activities.

The grant will also help pay for a financial feasibility study that  
will determine how the UI could pay for the pavilion, officials said.  
But the majority, if not the entirety of the funding, may be raised  
from private sources.

If built, the pavilion would be attached to the north concourse of  
the Kibbie Dome and share some of the dome's infrastructure.

In a related item, UI Vice President for Finance and Administration  
Lloyd Mues updated the board on fire safety issues that have existed  
since the Kibbie Dome was built more than 30 years ago.

Mues flatly told the board that when it was built, Idaho had no state  
fire marshal and the city of Moscow had no building code jurisdiction  
over the construction. And, Mues added to gasps from the audience, no  
building permit was even required.

Fire suppression was declared insufficient as early as June 1975,  
Mues said. To bring the building up to code, comprehensive sprinkler  
systems and upgraded exhaust fans need to installed, especially in  
the dome's wood roof. Better exits are also needed, and the iconic  
end walls -- constructed of combustible plywood -- need to be  
replaced, probably with a translucent fiberglass material, Mues said.

Fiberglass panels would have the added benefit of allowing natural  
light into the dome, potentially cutting power costs, he said.

Finally, the artificial turf in the dome is worn to the point it  
represents a safety and health hazard, Mues said. The UI will come  
back to the board, possibly at its next meeting, to ask permission to  
spend between $1.5 million and $2 million of internal funds to  
replace the turf.

Mues said the UI wants to replace the old turf, which is rolled up  
against the west wall when not in use, with a palletized system. That  
would open the west end for the needed new exits.

Other wishes for the dome include lowering the football field 10 to  
12 feet to improve sight lines for front-row seating and add 3,600  
seats along the sidelines, and a new academic support center for  
athletes in the dome's east end.

Just addressing the safety and fire code issues could cost about $12  
million, Mues said. UI President Tim White said he would look for  
some of the money in the state Permanent Building Fund. But he  
conceded that amount is likely to be small, and bonding would be  
considered for the rest of the upgrades.

The other nonsafety improvements would likely be funded through  
private donations, officials said.

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