Space benefits more than basketball

The University of Idaho's Idaho Central Credit Union Arena will serve as more than a basketball mecca for the Vandals men's and women's teams.

UI Interim Athletic Director Pete Isakson sees the proposed 4,200-seat venue as a win for the university's Athletics Department, the university as a whole and the community.

"This is a big deal," Isakson said. "This is going to be something that all of the Vandals will be proud of."

UI President Chuck Staben said about $40 million of the roughly $48 million needed to construct the venue has been raised. The final construction documents will be delivered to the UI in January, and the Idaho State Board of Education can approve the construction and financing plans in February.

Pending board approval, construction is expected to start in April, and the goal is to have the arena ready for the 2021-22 basketball season, Staben said.

Staben said the building will be a better use for certain university and community events like convocation, winter commencement and Finals Fest in the spring.

"We have a plan to grow as a campus, and the demands for this kind of space will only get greater - not lesser," Staben said.

He said the arena will be designed in such a way that will be accommodating for events.

"We see it as very much a multi-purpose facility focused on its function as a basketball arena," Staben said.

Isakson said the arena will provide two additional spaces that will make scheduling easier for athletics, intramurals and physical education classes - all groups that currently share Memorial Gym and the Physical Education Building. The new arena is expected to include a practice basketball court in addition to the game court.

He said intramurals and other university activities will be able to use Memorial Gym and the PEB to a fuller extent with the basketball teams out of the way. Isakson said the volleyball team, which will continue to play at Memorial Gym after the arena is constructed, will come out a winner as well since it will not have to schedule its practices and games around two basketball teams.

While Staben and Isakson said the arena will help in recruiting basketball student-athletes, Staben said it could help in recruiting students as well.

"It will be a stunning facility that will have a real presence on campus and students will see it," Staben said.

Various student orientation events are held in the Kibbie Dome, but some of those activities will be moved to the arena so even prospective students will be able to enjoy the facility, Staben said.

Isakson said the arena can play host to postseason collegiate tournaments or even state playoffs for high school basketball.

"The more that we can have in that building, the better off we'll be," Isakson said.

Staben said he expects the arena to capture people's imagination in a way that would not be possible if it was a conventional structure. The arena will be a large, primarily wooden structure, which is very different from the ordinary enormous steel structures typically seen in the U.S.

He said the integration with local forestry industries will distinguish the venue from other athletic projects. The arena can be a symbol of the region, Staben said.

"A lot of people have recognized that for a residential campus, you need certain landmark buildings, and this is one," he said.

Staben said the Kibbie Dome was the largest wooden structure of its type when it was built as an enclosed facility in 1975.

"We will have two of the world's iconic wood structures on this campus in an area where logging is a critical industry," he said. "I think that's amazingly cool."

The UI, including longtime Athletic Director Rob Spear, has tried to construct a basketball facility for years. The university still needs to come up with about $8 million to fund construction.

Other than some university funding, he is not exactly sure how the school will raise the remaining amount. He noted it is quite difficult to raise 100 percent of the cost for a significant building.

Of the $40 million raised, ICCU contributed $10 million, longtime Vandal supporter and Vandal Athletics Hall of Famer Bud Ford donated $2.5 million, and an anonymous donor gave $2.5 million as well.

In return for Ford's contribution, the university will name the arena's main court after Ford. Ford and the anonymous donor's donations came about a year to a year and a half ago, Staben said.

While the official name of the arena will be ICCU Arena, Staben said "The Woodshed" has the potential to catch on as an informal name. He even said ICCU CEO Kent Oram stated the nickname is a great working title.

"How terrifying is it going to be to be taken to The Woodshed by the Vandals?" Staben said.

Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.