Photo Courtesy of Idaho State Athletics
Braxton Gregory
Sports Editor
After roughly five decades of service, the wooden track inside the ICCU Dome is being retired.
Idaho State University Athletics and the ISU Foundation have unveiled a $6 million plan to rebuild the indoor track and field facilities at the dome, with every dollar coming from private donors. The Simplot Company Foundation and ISU alumni Dick and Connie Luebke are funding the project. It will give Bengal athletes a safer and faster place to compete while keeping the building’s role as a multi-use venue for campus and the Pocatello community.
The old track has become a fixture of Idaho State’s track and field identity, but it has outlived its safe working life. The university said the aging surface demands more and more maintenance and no longer measures up to the technical standards of modern NCAA Division I competition.
“This is an extraordinary investment in the future of Idaho State Athletics, our student-athletes and the entire community,” said Director of Athletics Pauline Thiros. “We are deeply grateful to the Simplot Company Foundation and Dick and Connie Luebke for recognizing the importance of this project and for helping us create a facility capable of serving Idaho State and the many communities, athletes and organizations that rely on the ICCU Dome.”
Planners studied top collegiate indoor facilities across the country before settling on a design. The finished product will pair a permanent flat track with a portable 200-meter banked oval. A high-performance synthetic surface will cover the event floor and include sprint lanes, a throwing ring and other built-in features. The floor will be prepared to meet current NCAA and World Athletics standards.
The portable oval is the piece that keeps the dome versatile. Crews will be able to set it up and take it down by season, leaving room for the major community events the venue has hosted for years.
“The goal was never simply to build a new track,” said Thiros. “It was to create a world-class track and field environment while making the ICCU Dome more flexible, efficient and useful for everyone.”
For Dick Luebke, the gift is personal. He came to campus in the summer of 1974 to run middle distance for the Bengals. He earned All-American honors in 1975 and 1976 as part of a record-setting 2-mile relay team. He and Connie, whose maiden name is Tamura, had their first date at an ISU homecoming football game 52 years ago.
“For more than 50 years, the ICCU Dome, ‘Mini Dome’ in my tenure and memory, has celebrated extraordinary athletes, record-breaking performances and lifelong memories. Our new indoor track honors that legacy while creating a premier facility for future generations to experience the pride, excitement and magic of running in the ‘Mini Dome,’” said Dick Luebke.
The upgrade also secures the future of the Simplot Games, a partnership between ISU and the Simplot Company that has run for nearly 50 years. The meet is considered one of the top indoor high school track and field events in North America. Each year it draws thousands of athletes, coaches and families to Pocatello from across the country and around the world.
“We’ve loved the iconic history and charm of the existing track which has served so many high school athletes, including many who went on to the Olympic Games,” said Kristi Borgholthaus, executive director of the Simplot Games. “Now it’s time for an upgrade and we couldn’t be happier to be on the new track when we host the 47th annual Simplot Games Feb. 18-20.”
Work will happen in two phases. The first covers building and assembling the portable banked oval, which is scheduled to be ready in time for that meet and the Bengals’ 2027 indoor season. That spring, athletes will compete on a hybrid layout that combines the new oval with the old wooden sprint lanes and jump pits.
Phase two begins after spring football wraps up in 2027. Crews will then install a permanent Mondo surface on the event floor, with completion targeted for Aug. 1, 2027, so the football turf can go back down in time for the fall season. Every piece of the project is expected to be finished before the indoor track season and the Simplot Games in spring 2028.
University officials said the project will add years to one of Idaho State’s most important athletic and community venues while keeping Pocatello on the map as a destination for elite indoor track and field. Simplot sees the investment as the latest chapter in a long working relationship with the school.
“We’ve had such a long and fruitful relationship with Idaho State University, not only through the Simplot Games, but through a large number of partnerships both athletically and academically,” said Karin Hart, senior vice president of Global Business Solutions for Simplot. “This new track is another example of our partnership with ISU and our shared commitment to the people and communities in eastern Idaho.”
