Boise State reaches ‘first major achievement’ on North End Zone Project
In early 2021, Boise State deputy athletic director Cody Gougler sat at his desk in his brand new office in the Allen Noble Hall of Fame at Albertsons Stadium. He was still in his first month at Boise State, and with coffee in hand, was getting settled down for another typical day.
That was until then-new athletic director Jeramiah Dickey entered his office with his arms wrapped around a giant bin.
“He just kind of dumped it on my desk,” Gougler recalled on Friday evening. “It was brochures and pro formas and all kinds of different documents associated with stadium projects at the University of Akron and the University of Houston, and donor plans and giving pyramids. And he said, I want to build something in the north end zone. Help us figure that out.”
Four years later, Gougler told that story to over 200 donors before the now-finished outer structure of Albertson Stadium’s new north end zone.
On Friday, Boise State held a ceremony to place the final beam atop an elevator shaft in the north end zone, signifying what Gougler called the project’s “first major achievement.”
The 21-month project began days after Boise State football’s season ended in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve and is projected to be finished in time for the 2026 season. The approximately $65 million project will add up to 1,600 seats and feature 12 field-level suites, 44 loge boxes, 148 ledge seats and 882 club seats.
Gougler announced on Friday that all loge boxes — a smaller version of a premium suite typically seating 4-8 people — had already been sold.
Donors and staff were on hand on Friday to sign the bright orange beam placed upon the structure. Boise State football head coach Spencer Danielson was in attendance following a week of high school recruitment and placed the last signature on the beam before it was raised.
“It’s a huge moment for me. It’s a huge moment for Bronco Nation,” Danielson said after the ceremony. “It’s a huge moment for Boise State Athletics, Boise State University, and these are those moments that years down the road I’m definitely going to remember, and I know Bronco Nation is too.”
Dickey was also present for the ceremony. He noted that the stadium’s east side is in his crosshairs for Albertsons Stadium’s next project, but that the new north end zone will alleviate some issues with the east side once completed.
“We’ve got to figure something out. I hear Bronco Nation. I understand the restrooms, I understand the concourses. This is going to help,” Dickey said. “... It will relieve some pressure on the east side, but it’s not going to fix all our problems, so we’ve got to do some of the east side.”
Construction on the interior of the north end zone will continue throughout the following year, including during summer concerts and the football season. The new structure will also house a dining and nutrition bar for all student-athletes. It will operate as a student area most of the year, but on game days, will be transformed into a lounge for fans.
