How much dirt will turn Albertsons Stadium into a monster truck venue? Check it out

The current iteration of Albertsons Stadium’s iconic blue turf has welcomed some big non-football events, such as Post Malone’s record-setting stadium tour stop last summer, and in 2019 a pair of Garth Brooks shows on back-to-back nights.

But in its final showing before donning the Pac-12 logo, the turf is in a bit of a different hosting position — welcoming 234 truckloads worth of dirt and 15 monster trucks.

This Saturday, the stadium will be the site of a Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live show, the first event of its kind held in an outdoor stadium in North America. More than 20,000 tickets have been sold.

“There are other people from around the country coming here to see how it is done so they can take this event and plug it into their stadium in Los Angeles, Texas, Florida or New York,” said Nathan Burk, chief operating officer of Boise State’s Sports and Entertainment Group. “We’re the first — that’s our innovation mindset.”

The Albertsons Stadium transformation began Wednesday, when hundreds of crew members began covering the field with roughly 112,500 square feet of protective fabric and 2,550 sheets of plywood designed to shield the turf’s ground what will be atop it: monster trucks, robots, motorcycles and thousands of cubic yards of dirt.

When the lights dim Saturday night, that same crew will have only until Monday morning to turn it back into a football field.

And it wouldn’t be an event at Boise State’s stadium without a little blue. Some of the dirt covering the field will be painted to match the turf well below it, Burk said.

“It’s in our DNA,” he said. “We had to do something weird.”

Speaking of that DNA, former Boise State superstar and current Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty will make a return to Albertsons Stadium to drive the “Smashton Jeanty” monster truck onto the field.

The truck is a homage to everything Boise State, featuring a blue body and orange flames running across the side.

Boise State officials say the event is part of the university’s deliberate push to expand the types of entertainment offered at Albertsons Stadium, while keeping ticket prices affordable for families.

“For $15, you can get in and get three, four hours of entertainment,” Burk said. “It’s cheaper than a movie, and it’s a lot more interactive and engaging.”

Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live will begin officially at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, and ticket prices do start at $15 with promo code “MONSTER.”