The Idaho State Athletics Department will be happy to break ground on a new outdoor practice football facility in the coming weeks with a targeted completion date set in mid-June.
At the ground breaking ceremony, the facility’s major financial contributor’s name will be announced. The new facility will be located to the south of Holt Arena in the field between Albion Hall and Stacy Dragila Way.
The outdoor practice facility should help in recruiting athletes. When Marvin Lewis, an ISU Sports Hall of Famer and current head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, spoke to members of the media Feb. 14 and was asked what it takes to build a program he said, “The continual growth of the athletic facilities here is always important because that’s what the coaches need to help them recruit. When you’re a college coach, the important parts of recruiting are academics and athletic facilities.”
It appears that Lewis and the ISU Athletics Department are on the same wavelength. The athletic department has already shored up its APR (Academic Performance Rating) and with a new $700,000 outdoor practice facility, ISU increased its ability to recruit top talent from around the country.
The facility will feature an artificial turf, similar to the one inside Holt Arena. The outdoor practice facility should provide an alternative and safer place for the football players to practice on during spring camp.
The soccer and softball programs can also use the practice facility.
While it will be used for the football team to practice when weather permits, the field will be open to the community. One of the requirements by local financial contributors was that programs not associated with ISU could use the facility.
While the facility will not have any seating to facilitate high school sports, it should be able to accommodate programs such as Gate City Soccer and Southeast Idaho Youth Football League.