Boise: sports venues

[Boisebro]

there are a lot of things going on in the Boise sports world right now, and i thought it'd be fun to create a thread that tracks all the news and updates for the Treasure Valley's larger sports venues.

here's a starter list. please feel free to add to this list, because i'm sure i'm missing some!

CURRENT FACILITIES

Bronco Stadium (football, capacity: 38,000) -- SEZ/NEZ expansion and the new football facility is under construction! future plans will increase stadium capacity over 55,000.







Taco Bell Arena (basketball, capacity: 12,500) -- new locker rooms/offices currently under construction. i've heard rumors of additional future improvements, but nothing concrete.








CenturyLink Arena (multi-use, capacity: 5,000) -- continues to be the home to the Idaho Steelheads ECHL hockey team and Idaho Stampede NBADL team.







Idaho Center (multi-use, capacity: 10,000) -- haven't heard any big news lately regarding the IC.










Memorial Stadium (baseball, capacity: 3,500) -- city and owners are searching for a new home for the Hawks. currently facility is outdated. last i heard, the city was researching a potential multi-use facility for the Hawks and other events. possible locations: Meridian, Boise on 30th.







Meridian Speedway (racing, capacity unknown) -- no updates. many have surmised that the speedway is eventually doomed as Meridian continues to grow around it.







Firebird Raceway (drag racing, capacity unknown) -- no updates.





Les Bois Park (horse racing, capacity 5,000; max of 7,800) -- new owners with upgrade facilities. i've updated the capacity based on stories in the news.





FUTURE:

Donna Larson Park (multi use track/football/soccer, capacity 5,000; softball field, capacity TBD) -- under construction; will be complete this summer! football field turf has already been installed -- and yes, the field is green.

War Eagle Speedway (racing, multiple tracks; capacity 100,000) -- proposed a few years ago between Boise and Mountain Home, this was to be a first-class facility that could hold everything from NASCAR races to F1 and off-road. no updates since the economy went south; may be dead. here's a link from four years ago with information:


http://www.mountainhomenews.com/story/1248368.html


anything i missed?

[Cottonwood]

There is the Eagle Bike Park which will have a Velodrome and is still raising $$ to complete the actual velodrome.....this is to be one of the largest bike parks in the US when completed.

http://eaglebikepark.org/
http://idahovelopark.org/



.....and Idaho Ice World
http://idahoiceworld.cityofboise.org/

[Boisebro]

good article in the statesman about a possible new ballpark.

don't bother reading the comments section. it's always full of the dregs of humanity.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/07/04/1714336/more-questions-than-answers-on.html

[Boisebro]

conceptual rendering of a possible new boise ballpark:



sounds like initial capacity will be in the 5,000 range, though a triple-A club will possibly double that to 10,000.

i agree with some of the fan comments that there needs to be more shade. the #1 issue people have with the current hawks stadium is that unless you're on the third-base side, you're going to get fried in the sun.

would be nice to see a version with an extended roof and/or an upper deck to provide more shade.

[isangpogi]

Le Bois Park is up and running. We live near it and have seen the horses racing and spectators in the grandstands several times now...

[Hawk]

It was a great game. The Hawks won. But the stadium is kind of small, and it really needs an upgrade ASAP. I really hope they actually build the new stadium. the renderings look pretty damn sweet! anyways here are just a few pics i took at the game of the stadium and the field.













To tell you the truth, the current stadium looks more like one that a high school would play at. Not something that would be the home to a Minor League team.

[Evo5Boise]

Ya, I love the Hawks and have some great memories of them. I had some good times with friends and even met a few cute girls at the current Hawks stadium in my younger years. But honestly, it is time to move on to bigger and better things. Boise is growing up and so should their baseball team!

[Boisebro]

i drove by Donna Larsen park this week, and construction is well underway.

combine that with the $3 million donation for BSU athletics this week, and we could see Bronco stadium expansion begin soon!

perhaps even faster if we get into the Big East!

[Boisebro]

there's a meeting tomorrow to discuss potential locations for the new ballpark.

surprised there are so many options, but the ones closest to downtown would be my preference... especially around 30th street. that part of town is just begging for redevelopment.

------

The Better Boise Coalition, a group dedicated to getting a new multi-sport and entertainment complex that could become the new home to the Boise Hawks, will meet with community and real estate leaders on Tuesday to discuss a new report and to decide the next steps to making their dream a reality.

Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/1...#ixzz1dios0svY

[City Of Trees]

Originally Posted by Boisebro

there's a meeting tomorrow to discuss potential locations for the new ballpark.

surprised there are so many options, but the ones closest to downtown would be my preference... especially around 30th street. that part of town is just begging for redevelopment.

------

The Better Boise Coalition, a group dedicated to getting a new multi-sport and entertainment complex that could become the new home to the Boise Hawks, will meet with community and real estate leaders on Tuesday to discuss a new report and to decide the next steps to making their dream a reality.

Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/1...#ixzz1dios0svY

The one danger about the downtown locations, as cited in the cons, is the desire for additional parking. I'm not sure if it's a good thing if the downtown park is surrounded by multiple blocks of surface parking. Even if those lots would be used for more than baseball, it still encourages even more people to commute by car to downtown.

If they ever put a light rail line down the Union Pacific right of way, the Mellin property at Five Mile and Franklin would be quite intriguing, as that property is right in between Franklin and the railroad. That's also where Franklin rises above a small bench, so you could do some interesting things with abutting seating against the earth if you so chose.

[Boisebro]

in a perfect world -- of which, boise is the capital, of course -- they'd pick the 30th street site by the river as suggested in the rendering.

then build one 4-story parking garage to handle parking.

and extend the trolley line to reach the ballpark.

that way, downtown workers could grab the trolley to the ballpark after work without having to worry about parking.




and now we return to our regularly scheduled real life...

[Boisebro]

quick Bronco Stadium update:

report in the statesman says that the end zone bleachers will be removed and relocated to donna larson park.

new, larger bleachers will be installed in the end zones to increase Bronco Stadium's capacity to 37,000 by next season.

a good temporary plan, with further, larger expansion phases not far behind...

[BoiseAirport]

Slightly old news now, but in case anyone missed it...

Dallas Stars to hold preseason training camp and preseason NHL game in Boise.

http://www.ktvb.com/sports/NHL-comin...136892203.html
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/0...-to-boise.html

Being a new hockey fan that's very quickly getting into the sport, this is awesome news to hear, I'd love to get tickets to the exhibition game.

[Hawk]

don't get me wrong i'm a huge fan of the Steelheads, but i would totally love an NHL team to stay in boise. heh I think Boise would be a wonderful place for a pro team. Although, unfortunately i KNOW that boise's population is a bit smal for one though.

[Boisebro]

update on the new Hawks stadium from Tom Scott:

According to the Idaho Business Review, the Better Boise Coalition has identified two potential new stadium sites: 30th and Main and 27th and Fairview, just west of Downtown Boise. Now comes the tricky part: finding the estimated $25 million to pay for it. Supporters of the BBC surmise that a combination of private and public dollars would be needed. The coalition warns that the Chicago Cubs may seek to relocate the Boise Hawks franchise—or least drop their affiliation with the Hawks—without modernized facilities. The timing is tough considering the plodding economy, but Boise tends to be creative.


also, i'm hoping to update the first post in this page to include pictures of the various facilities and revise some of the capacities.

i'm having difficulty finding decent images of Les Bois, Meridian Speedway and Firebird Raceway, though.

[Hawk]

Originally Posted by Boisebro

update on the new Hawks stadium from Tom Scott:

According to the Idaho Business Review, the Better Boise Coalition has identified two potential new stadium sites: 30th and Main and 27th and Fairview, just west of Downtown Boise. Now comes the tricky part: finding the estimated $25 million to pay for it. Supporters of the BBC surmise that a combination of private and public dollars would be needed. The coalition warns that the Chicago Cubs may seek to relocate the Boise Hawks franchise—or least drop their affiliation with the Hawks—without modernized facilities. The timing is tough considering the plodding economy, but Boise tends to be creative.


also, i'm hoping to update the first post in this page to include pictures of the various facilities and revise some of the capacities.

i'm having difficulty finding decent images of Les Bois, Meridian Speedway and Firebird Raceway, though.

You could have Sawtooth ride his Bike to those locations and take a few pictures for you. That is if you ask him nicely

[Boisebro]

Originally Posted by Hawk

You could have Sawtooth ride his Bike to those locations and take a few pictures for you. That is if you ask him nicely

nah. i prefer to threaten people than ask nicely.

that's how i got elcon to post his freakin' pictures after 10 months.

[BoiseAirport]

It'd really suck to lose the Hawks, and the new stadium looks so beautiful. Would be outstanding to go to a game in that environment, near the whitewater park and Esther Simplot Park. I really hope donors step up... I can't, I'm already a poor college student. I wish there was something I could do.

[isangpogi]

Originally Posted by BoiseAirport

It'd really suck to lose the Hawks, and the new stadium looks so beautiful. Would be outstanding to go to a game in that environment, near the whitewater park and Esther Simplot Park. I really hope donors step up... I can't, I'm already a poor college student. I wish there was something I could do.

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/201...ss_isnt_made_n

According to the Statesman, the danger isn't so much in losing the Hawks but in losing the Cubs' affiliation with the Hawks. Since the owners of the Hawks are assured of a team in the league, if the Cubs pull out then another team will fill the gap. I have no emotional attachment to the Cubs and don't see how their affiliation has helped the Hawks more than any other club's would have. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Maybe another team would come in with the understanding that they will need to put some money into building a new facility rather than leaving it up to the city. Just my 2 cents...

[Boisebro]

update on bronco stadium expansion -- capacity will be increased to 37,000 for next season (i'd wager that the BYU game could come close to 40,000):

--------------------

Fans in the north and south end zones will have new permanent seating. Along with the construction of the new Bronco Football Complex in the north grass field area, Boise State is replacing its end zone seats. The new end zone configurations will increase the total number of seats in the north end zone to 3,750 and south end zone to 4,900, bringing the total capacity of Bronco Stadium to 37,000.

The south end zone construction will also connect the east and west concourses, allowing fans to access concessions and restrooms on both sides of the stadium.

Both construction projects (end zone seats and football complex) will begin in early April with the new seats ready for the upcoming football season and the football complex completed in the summer of 2013.

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/0...#storylink=cpy