With a current #3 AP Poll ranking and the Mountain West Conference on the horizon, Boise State has announced plans to expand their stadium from the current capacity of 33, 610 to 53,000. Like many excited BSU fans, I was happy about the news. However, once the euphoria wore off, I began to ask some deeper questions.

How will this be funded and when will this happen? Because without money or a date, this is looking like the boyfriend who just proposed but has no job and hasn’t set a wedding date.

BSU Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier has pointed out “We’ve got the smallest stadium of any team in the top 25. We’ve got the smallest budget of any school by far in the top 25.” I realize that if the Broncos expect to stay in the top 25 year in and year out, then they need to attract the best talent possible. How much do the new club seats and press box play a part in a recruits decision? How about the practice facility? Does it effect a 17 year old recruit much when he walks into a stadium that seats 53,000 vs 33,000?

Let’s look back at the last  couple of additions and the reasons why BSU thought they needed them.

Caven-Williams Sports Complex

The Caven-Williams Sport Complex, slightly smaller than the Vandal’s Kibbie Dome, was a project pushed by former BSU Coach Dan Hawkins. He thought Boise State needed an indoor practice facility and the program’s future depended on it. It was thought to be vital to recruiting and keeping athletes in better conditions before game day.

Stueckle Sky Club

The Stueckle Sky Club, which added a state of the art press box, and 4000 club seats, was also a necessary improvement for all the ESPN games broadcast from Boise. They changed the turf this off season just for ESPN, so we all know how important BSU feels that relationship is. How many recruits come to Boise because of ESPN coverage?

So why do we need this latest stadium expansion? Is it recruits? Money to run the program? Did you know that BSU only sold out 2 home games last year? Part of what Bleymaier said is that we need more affordable seats added so that more people will attend. I agree! Will they sell the end zones out to students and guests for next to nothing? When these last two additions were announced major sponsors and BAA donors stepped up and a date was announced for construction plans. We had costs and a goal in mind. We also knew who would be using the facilities and how they would raise revenue. Of course this expansion will also raise revenue, but how much?

I’m waiting for a major donor to announce how they love BSU and are donating millions to help get this project off the ground. The Stueckle family did it! They donated around 4.5 million over the years. I’m guessing that we will hear more about costs and the time line soon. Perhaps this is just the cheer-leading being done to gather the dollars needed soon.

With teams like BYU, TCU, OSU, and Utah on the schedule for coming years, I could see BSU selling out 53,000+ seats. Certainly this will effect other top teams coming to Boise. Wouldn’t it be great if Virginia Tech was coming to the Blue Turf next season? Those games will probably not come here until we make this expansion happen.

I think expansion is great, and I can’t wait to see 53,000 fans all cheering “BOISE” ,,, “STATE” ,,, “BOISE” ,,, “STATE”. Let’s get the money lined up and a date set so we can work towards a finish. Otherwise this is just an engagement with no wedding date. One last thought, get this money and date lined up soon. If Boise has a tough year the support to do this may dwindle rapidly.

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