[Vision2020] ESPN slow news day: They're profiling the Kibbie Dome

[Kenneth Marcy]

http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/12743/idahos-kibbie-dome-ncaas-most-unique-stadium 


The Kibbie Dome is like no other venue in college football.

It sits like an enormous barrel half-buried into the University of Idaho 
campus and, in fact, once was referred to as "a Campbell's Soup can cut 
in half" by a visiting coach.

It ranks as both an architectural marvel and the smallest home field in 
the Football Bowl Subdivision, holding about 16,500 fans.

Inside, the roof of laminated wooden beams arches over a field sunken 
below ground level, and new translucent panels over the end zones allow 
a flood of natural light. Goalposts are attached to the walls about 5 
yards behind the end zone -- rather than from a post in the ground -- 
with those walls padded for players' protection.

The Dome has been called too small and outdated by some, yet embraced by 
others who've seen (and heard) it at its packed-to-full-volume glory.

At its best, it's a cozy, home-field advantage for the Vandals, a venue 
that prompts some teams to send scouts to take photos for coaches and 
players to study.

At its worst, it's a facility that holds so few people that Idaho 
projects only about $440,000 in ticket revenue this season -- or about 
1.2 percent of the estimated $36 million generated by University of 
Texas football in 2011.

Located in Moscow, far off the beaten path of major college football, 
national telecasts and BCS conferences, the Kibbie Dome is just ... 
different.

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included, go to ths URL:

http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/12743/idahos-kibbie-dome-ncaas-most-unique-stadium 



Ken