Holt Arena is an indoor multi-purpose athletic

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

, located on the campus of

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

(ISU) in

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

. It is the home field of the

Idaho State Bengals The Idaho State Bengals are the varsity intercollegiate athletic teams representing Idaho State University, located in Pocatello, Idaho. The university sponsors thirteen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, tennis, and trac ...

of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

and sits at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

.USGS topographic map of Holt Arena

MSR Maps Microsoft Research Maps (MSR Maps) was a free online repository of public domain aerial imagery and topographic maps provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The site was a collaboration between Microsoft Research (MSR), Bing Maps, an ...

. Accessed 6 January 2008.

History

Originally named the ASISU Minidome—named after the Associated Students of Idaho State University, who funded construction—it opened in 1970 at the north end of the ISU campus. The indoor facility replaced the outdoor "

Spud Bowl The Idaho State Bengals football program represents Idaho State University in college football. The Bengals play their home games at Holt Arena, an indoor facility on campus in Pocatello, Idaho. Idaho State is a charter member of the Big Sky Con ...

" as the Bengals' home football stadium. The venue was renamed in 1988 to honor Milton W. "Dubby" Holt (1914–2007), ISU's athletic director from 1967 to 1989. As assistant athletic director, Holt conceived the indoor arena in 1966 and it was designed by architect Cedric M. Allen. Although a controversial design proposal for the time, ISU students voted to appropriate not more than $2.8 million to the project two years later. The arena was built entirely with these voluntary student funds.Holt Arena
,

Idaho Public Television Idaho Public Television (also known as IdahoPTV and Idaho Public TV) is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member network serving the U.S. state of Idaho. Consisting of five television stations, it is operated and funded by the Idaho State Boa ...

. (accessed 4 September 2013) With over 56% in favor, ISU students approved a $12 increase in semester fees to fund the stadium in early 1968. Holt Arena is the oldest enclosed stadium on a college campus in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the second-oldest overall.Facilities - Idaho State University Bengals
Accessed 6 January 2008 Only the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, completed in 1965, predates it. Since the Astrodome's 2006 closure, Holt Arena has been the oldest enclosed stadium in use. The original

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

installed in 1970 was

Poly-Turf Poly-Turf was a brand of artificial turf in the early 1970s, manufactured by American Biltrite of Wellesley, Massachusetts. It was the first specifically designed for American football, with a patented layered structure which included a "shock pad" ...

. After 41 football seasons on Poly-Turf and

AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...

, infilled synthetic turf was installed in Holt Arena in July 2011. Similar to FieldTurf, the SoftTop Removable Matrix System is also installed in

AT&T Stadium AT&T Stadium, formerly Cowboys Stadium, is a retractable roof, retractable-roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. I ...

in the NFL. Holt Arena is undergoing major renovations which are planned to be complete by the 2023 season. A new turf is being designed as part of the renovations, and the new turf is projected to be installed by the 2022 season.

Additional uses

Holt Arena also serves as home for the ISU indoor

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

team and men's basketball team. It also hosts

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

games, the famous Simplot Games high school indoor track meet, along with other sporting events, rodeos, concerts, and other activities. During ISU's run in basketball to the Elite Eight in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, they won the Big Sky regular season title, which allowed them to host the four-team conference tournament, which they also won. The Bengals were allowed to stay home for the first round of the 32-team NCAA tournament, as the Minidome had a pair of first round games (sub-regionals) on Saturday, March 12.

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

defeated

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

and hometown ISU beat

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

. (Five days later, Idaho State stunned UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen at the West regional in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU). Provo lies between the ...

.) Between the Big Sky tourney and the NCAA games, the venue also hosted the state's three-day A-1 (now 5A) high school championship tournament. Following the success of the Minidome, several other colleges built enclosed stadiums, including the

Kibbie Dome The William H. Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center (commonly known as the Kibbie Dome) is a multi-purpose indoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. It is the home of the Idaho ...

at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, which was enclosed in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

after four years as an outdoor stadium, and the

Walkup Skydome The J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome is an indoor multipurpose stadium in the southwestern United States, located on the campus of Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff, Arizona. It is primarily used as the home of the NAU Lumberjacks foot ...

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

in Flagstaff, opened in 1977. It is one of three indoor football stadiums currently in use in the Big Sky Conference, along with the Kibbie Dome and Walkup Skydome. During the final six seasons of Idaho's absence from Big Sky football (2012–2017), the

Alerus Center The Alerus Center is an indoor arena and convention center in the north central United States, located in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The facility is owned and operated by the city of Grand Forks and opened on February 10, 2001. The arena's maj ...

at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

was another indoor stadium used in Big Sky football, but UND left the Big Sky after the 2017 football season for the

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivis ...

, home to three other football programs that play in domes (

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

Northern Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

). Holt Arena features of floor space; the building is recessed below grade and rises above grade at its highest point. Holt Arena hosted the 2018 Convention of the

Idaho Republican Party The Idaho Republican Party (IDGOP) is the Idaho state affiliate of the United States Republican Party, headquartered in Boise. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling both of Idaho's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, ...

, which was held June 28 through June 30.

History

Additional uses

See also

References

External links