The Kibbie Dome is almost ready to go.
After several years of work, the multiuse dome - with new life safety and enhancement upgrades - should be complete within a few weeks, said Guy Esser, the University of Idaho facilities project manger.
Although the work occurred at the same time, there were actually two projects with four contractors, and one had two phases, Esser said.
The $25 million Kibbie Dome Life Safety Upgrades project started in 2009, with the first phase completed that summer. The second phase ran concurrently to the $5.3 million Kibbie Enhancement Project and began last spring, after basketball season ended in March.
The life safety upgrade was paid for with bonds, while the enhancement project was through private donations raised by the athletic association, Esser said.
The work on the 37-year-old building has both immediate aesthetic effects and long-term energy savings, Esser said.
But the biggest thing is safety.
"The number one thing is, this is a safer facility when we fill it full of people," he said. "We've done safety studies for all events, from football to the jazz festival to home shows. It's all been taken into account to give a safer and better level of security for everybody that uses that facility."
Before construction began, the Kibbie Dome had several safety shortfalls, including combustible wood construction and fewer exits than required for the 180,000-square foot facility.
Now, it meets standards or alternative means compliances, which include a series of alternatives if the original requirement can't be met.
Opsis Architecture of Portland, Ore., was the architect of record for both projects, while MW Consulting Engineers from Spokane was their subconsultant and handled the mechanical and electrical designs.
Walsh Construction Co., from Portland, was the lead manager in contracting for the life safety project, while McAlvain Construction from Boise was the general manager and contractor for the enhancement project.
McAlvain Construction's president is a University of Idaho alumnus, but that wasn't a factor in the decision to hire them, Esser said.
"Both of the contractors were hired for their relative experience and expertise in this kind of project," Esser said. "This isn't common work."
The enhancement project mostly focused on changes to the athletic aspect of the building. Booster seating was expanded, the press box was moved to the north side of the building and club-level seating was added to the facility, as were suites.
The sound system was also upgraded and integrated with the emergency alarm system.
On the facilities improvement side, translucent light panels were added to the east and west ends of the dome, bringing significantly more light into the facility. The new doors and new exterior siding, also give the facility a fresher appearance, while increasing safety and making the facility more weather-tight, Esser said.
The panels not only brighten the facility but Esser expects to see long-term energy saving, as running the interior lights at all times is no longer required.
"On a game-time basis, we'll still need lights on a football level, but in the daytime we'll be able to massively reduce lights in the interior, and often go without any lights at all," he said. "The lighting levels are very good in daytime hours."
The energy saving wasn't intended, but it's welcome, Esser said.
"It's a happy by-product of being able to replace those walls with noncombustible materials," he said.
But the biggest thing visitors to the dome have noticed are the new handrails in the aisles.
"It's much easier getting up and down the stairs now," Esser said. "... All of the Kibbie Dome was updated to make it brighter and more friendly."
And both projects created additional signage and graphics, although not all of those have been installed, he said. They should be up within the next several weeks, Esser said.
The updates have been a long time coming since the facility was built in 1974.
"There have been small, intermittent improvements to bring it more into compliance, but in 2007 there was a comprehensive athletics facilities master plan completed that also pointed out the need for compliance upgrades, and a list of solutions. We took the info from that plan and moved forward with the actual project."
Amelia Veneziano can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 233, or by email to aveneziano@dnews.com.
