Boise State took a small step toward its long-term goal of revamping the auxiliary gym facilities for the school’s men’s and women’s basketball teams.
The Idaho State Board of Education gave the school the go-ahead to work on planning and design for the revamp of the gym, which is attached to the larger arena next door.
Boise State won similar approval last fall for work to revamp the north end zone at the football stadium.
Neither the stadium project nor the gym project have any funding, announced timeline, or firm plan in place. The projects are both parts of a larger “Athletics Village” plan that school athletic director Jeremiah Dickey hopes to build on the campus.
The gym – not to be confused with the nearby Old Bronco Gym, is used for practice facilities for the men’s and women’s hoops teams. It is connected to the Arguinchona Basketball Complex, which houses locker rooms for the teams.
The school hopes to add new weight rooms tailored to the basketball programs and add offices and conference rooms. Initial renderings strategically released by the school last spring as part of a PR campaign showed a two-level facility for men’s and women’s teams, opening to the basketball gym.
“Our thanks to the state board of education,” Dickey said. “Their approval enables us to take the next step towards our mission to position our student-athletes for success, on and off the court.”
Early estimates for the project peg its budget at $5 million to $6 million, though Dickey acknowledged to BoiseDev last spring that the numbers are only rough estimates.
The work is separate from plans to upgrades to the arena. The athletics department hopes to add premium seating, sideline boxes seats and more. The school also uses the arena for concerts and other uses and has mulled a number of different plans for the multi-use facility.
The school is hoping to raise funds for the upgrades and included a pitch for donations in its news release for the project.
