Kibbie Dome facts for kids
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Kibbie Dome,
Cowan Spectrum (basketball) |
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Kibbie Dome's west side in 2010
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| Former names | Idaho Stadium (1971–74) |
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| Location | University of Idaho S. Rayburn Street Moscow, Idaho |
| Coordinates | 46°43′34″N 117°01′01″W / 46.726°N 117.017°W |
| Owner | University of Idaho |
| Operator | University of Idaho |
| Capacity | Football: 16,000 Basketball: 7,000 (Cowan Spectrum) |
| Record attendance | 19,878 vs. Boise State on November 18, 1989 11,800 – (basketball) vs. Montana on February 12, 1982–83 |
| Surface | RealGrass Pro (2007–) AstroTurf (1990–2006) Tartan Turf (1972–1989) Natural grass (1971) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | February 1971 |
| Opened | September 27, 1975 50 years ago October 9, 1971 (outdoor) 54 years ago as new "Idaho Stadium" |
| Construction cost | $7.84 million |
| Architect | Gene E. Cline of CSHQA Boise, Idaho |
| Main contractors | Emerick Construction Co. Portland, Oregon |
| Tenants | |
| Idaho Vandals (NCAA) (1971–present) | |
The William H. Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center, often called the Kibbie Dome, is a large indoor sports stadium. It is located in Moscow, Idaho, on the campus of the University of Idaho. This stadium is home to the Idaho Vandals sports teams. It is used for many different sports like football, basketball, tennis, indoor track and field, and soccer.
The Kibbie Dome first opened in October 1971 as an outdoor football stadium. It was built where an older wooden stadium, Neale Stadium, once stood. After the 1974 football season, a special arched roof and walls were added. The stadium then reopened as an enclosed building in September 1975.
The Kibbie Dome has 16,000 permanent seats for football games. For basketball games, it can be set up to seat 7,000 fans. When used for basketball, it is called the Cowan Spectrum. The playing field is about 2,610 feet (800 m) above sea level.
Contents
History of the Kibbie Dome
How the Stadium Was Built
The Kibbie Dome was built in different stages over several years. The first plan was to build a large outdoor football stadium and a separate indoor arena for basketball. However, due to budget cuts, the plans changed. The new idea was to build a smaller football stadium that could also be enclosed. This way, it could be used for basketball, indoor track, and tennis too. This idea was similar to the Holt Arena in Pocatello, which opened in 1970.
Building the concrete stands began in February 1971. This was after a fire destroyed the old Neale Stadium in November 1969. The old stadium had been closed because of soil problems. For two seasons, the Vandal football team played their home games at WSU's Rogers Field in Pullman.
Weather delays slowed down the building of the new "Idaho Stadium." The Vandals played their first few "home" games of 1971 away from campus. The stadium finally opened on October 9, 1971, with a football game against Idaho State. The Vandals won 40–3 in front of 14,200 fans. This was the first football game on campus in almost three years. For its first four seasons (1971–74), the stadium was outdoors and had no lights.
In the summer of 1972, a special Tartan Turf field was put in. This field could be rolled up, and it was the first of its kind in the world. In November 1974, it was decided to finally enclose the stadium. The arched roof and walls were finished in time for the 1975 season.
Naming the Dome
The enclosed stadium was renamed in 1975 after William H. Kibbie. He was a construction executive who gave $300,000 to help fund the project. The "ASUI" part of the name stands for the "Associated Students of the University of Idaho." This is the university's student government.
The company that built the roof was Trus-Joist Company from Boise. They used engineered wood products instead of steel or aluminum. This showed how strong and affordable their wood products were. The roof project took only ten months and cost $1 million. In 1976, the Kibbie Dome roof won a special award for its engineering.
Stadium Updates
After the first indoor football season, a new Tartan surface was added in January 1976. The first basketball game was played on January 21, and an indoor track meet happened a few days later.
The Kibbie Dome's roof stretches 400 feet (120 m) from one sideline to the other. Its highest point is 150 feet (45 m) above the field.
Soon after it was finished in 1975, there were problems with the roof's outside layer. It was not put on correctly, and leaks started to appear by 1980. This could have caused wood rot. After some discussions, a new roof was built over the original one. This second roof was finished in the fall of 1982 and solved the leaking problem.
Football at the Kibbie Dome
The Kibbie Dome has 16,000 seats for football games. A record 19,878 fans attended a game against Boise State in November 1989. The football field runs in an unusual east–west direction. However, the sun does not cause major visibility problems.
From 1999 to 2001, the Vandals used WSU's Martin Stadium in nearby Pullman as their home field. This was while Idaho moved back to a higher level of college football. There were talks about making the Kibbie Dome bigger, but the seating capacity stayed at 16,000.
When there isn't a football game, the football field can be rolled up in about an hour. This reveals a large polyurethane surface used for indoor tennis and track & field. This surface has a five-lane track that is 317 yards (290 m) long. It also has nine tennis courts and courts for basketball and volleyball.
In 1990, the original synthetic turf from 1972 was replaced. In the summer of 2007, the AstroTurf was replaced with RealGrass Pro. This is a newer type of artificial turf. Unlike the old AstroTurf, RealGrass Pro cannot be rolled up easily. It has to be removed in sections.
Safety upgrades began in the spring of 2009. The west wall was replaced with new, safer materials. This included translucent panels on the top half and metal siding on the bottom. More safety improvements were made inside, like adding handrails and smoke exhaust systems. The east wall was replaced in 2011. A special seating area called the Litehouse Center was also added in 2011.
Basketball at the Kibbie Dome
The Kibbie Dome is also home to the Vandal basketball teams. It offers more seating than the older Memorial Gym. The basketball court is placed in the middle of the football field, near the south sideline. Temporary seats are added on the north, east, and west sides. The first basketball game was played on January 21, 1976, against WSU.
For basketball games, the Kibbie Dome is now called the Cowan Spectrum. It is named after Bob and Jan Cowan, who helped pay for the current setup. Since February 2001, large black curtains have been used to separate the basketball court from the rest of the stadium. This makes the court feel more cozy, like a "stadium-within-a-stadium," with 7,000 seats.
In the early 1980s, the Kibbie Dome was known as one of the toughest places for visiting teams to play in college basketball. During the 1983 season, attendance for some games went over 11,000. From January 1980 to February 1983, the Vandals won 43 home games in a row. A record 11,800 fans watched the streak end against Montana.
The Kibbie Dome hosted three Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournaments. The University of Idaho is now building a new arena called the Idaho Central Credit Union Arena. It will be north of the Kibbie Dome and will be home to men's and women's basketball, and women's volleyball. This new arena is expected to open in the fall of 2021.
Stadium Additions
Since the Kibbie Dome was enclosed in 1975, several important additions have been made. The East End Addition was finished in the fall of 1982. This addition provided locker rooms, offices, a weight room, and training facilities for all sports teams. Before this addition, football and basketball teams had to walk from the Memorial Gym to the Kibbie Dome, even in bad weather. William Kibbie also made a large donation for this project in 1979.
In April 2004, the facilities were improved again with the Vandal Athletic Center. This center includes a speed and strength center, renovated locker rooms for basketball, football, and volleyball, and a modern hydrotherapy pool.
Practice Fields Near the Dome
In August 2005, new SprinTurf was installed on the practice fields east of the Kibbie Dome. This artificial turf allows students to use the fields all year round. Before, the fields were only used for varsity football practice and had limited use. Now, they can be used for up to 2,000 hours per year. This project also included new lighting and fencing.
There are two 75-yard (69 m) fields, which are good for team practice for football, soccer, lacrosse, and rugby. They are also used for intramural sports. The artificial surface also saves about $50,000 each year in maintenance costs.
Other Nearby Sports Facilities
West of the Kibbie Dome is the Dan O'Brien outdoor track & field stadium. It was named in 1996 after the Olympic gold medalist and world champion in the decathlon. This stadium has a concrete stand with 1,000 seats. The facility was updated in 2011.
South of the Dome is the university's 18-hole golf course. It is a challenging course with rolling hills. The course opened in 1937 with nine holes and expanded to 18 holes between 1968 and 1970. To the east are the Memorial Gymnasium (built in 1928), the swim center, and the physical education building. There are also six outdoor tennis courts nearby.
About half a mile north of the Dome are large natural grass fields for intramural sports. This area includes the women's soccer field. There is also Guy Wicks Field, which has been the baseball field since the late 1960s.
Images for kids
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Kibbie Dome Interior (2020)
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