Boise State’s North End Zone Project is cranking along. See for yourself here
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boise State remains on budget and on schedule for 2026 North End Zone debut.
- New locker rooms and walkout shift player traffic, improve event flexibility.
- Fan amenities expand with suites, lounges, and future concert accommodations.
Boise State permitted media its first tour of the inside of the North End Zone Project at Albertsons Stadium on Tuesday.
The project, scheduled for completion by the start of the 2026 football season, will add approximately 1,600 seats as well as amenities for student-athletes, including a nutrition center and lounge area.
Tuesday’s walk-through provided a first look at the spacing and layout of the two hospitality spaces for fans, where the 12 field-level suites will be situated, as well as information about new run-out areas for both teams.
Senior Associate Athletic Director Nathan Burk said the North End Zone Project is still on schedule, and they’ve managed to stay within the $70 million construction budget.
Here are some of the things to be excited about.
New visitor locker rooms
The visiting team’s locker rooms will be moved from the south side of the stadium to the north starting in 2026. The new locker rooms will feature multiple offices, an equipment storage area and a treatment room.
Burk said the new locker rooms were created not just for the visiting football team, but because the area will be utilized year-round for other events, such as soccer games or concerts.
But crucially, Burk also said a revamped locker room could help attract better opponents to Albertsons Stadium.
As a result, the visiting team will enter and exit the stadium through the northeast corner, sandwiched between the student section and a corporate area, which can accommodate 50-60 people.
“We want to make sure that it’s hospitable, but maybe not a welcoming environment for them,” Burk said.
The new visitor locker room also means the opposing team will switch to the east sideline starting in 2026, with Boise State moving to the sideline beneath the Stueckle Sky Center. The change was made so that players don’t have to cross each other’s paths when exiting the field at halftime.
Built for concerts, too
Albertsons Stadium hosted roughly 37,000 people in June for a Post Malone concert, and Garth Brooks played a pair of nights back in 2019. Boise State has plans to lure other big artists for such shows.
Tunnels leading to the field have been purpose-built to accommodate trucks and trailers of road-legal height. Burk said that circuit breakers with quick plug-ins have also been installed around the north end zone, providing up to 4,000 amps and saving costs on renting and using a generator.
The North End Zone Project also is being done to allow the possibility of adding approximately 6,000 seats between the east and west sides of the stadium for concerts, including standing-room only on the field, Burk said. Eventually Albertsons Stadium could fit up to nearly 50,000 fans for concerts, he said.
Open-air sports bar and hospitality spaces
The new structure in the end zone by the Boise River will have two levels.
The ground level will feature the visiting locker rooms, additional storage space, a ticketing office, and — crucially for fans — a lounge area and suites.
The approximately 10,000-square-foot lounge will operate as a nutrition and social area for students for most of the year, but will be converted into a fan lounge on game days. The lounge area will feature a selection of hot and cold food and drinks, as well as alcoholic beverages, and 12 suites that are approximately the same size as those in the Stueckle Sky Center.
The 12 field-level suites will be approximately 70% indoor, featuring large sliding doors that open to an outdoor deck area.
Boise State players will exit their locker room in the Bleymaier Football Center and run down a hallway along the back of the lounge. They’ll wait behind a glass door before running out between the grand staircase leading to the second floor, running through the fan-filled lounge before entering the field.
The players will enter from a large tunnel on the northwest corner of the stadium for the 2025 season while the north end zone work is still being done.
On the upper level will be an open-air sports bar for ticketed members only. A thick wooden roof will cover the bar and feature fans to keep the space cool. On the west side of the concourse is also what Boise State calls a “sports garden,” open to all fans and providing excellent views of both the field and Boise, as well as the foothills in the distance.
Improvements to the east side coming soon?
Boise State’s motto under Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey is “What’s Next?” As far as Burk is concerned, the athletics department is finished with the north end zone — now it just needs to finish construction.
Dickey has said multiple times over the past year that the east side is next in his cross hairs, and Burk said Tuesday that he hopes improvements to that side of the stadium happen “sooner rather than later.”
“We’re engaged with the community, and we’re engaged with interested parties,” Burk said. “I think that the project that we’re looking at over there makes sense. And so I wouldn’t be shocked if we start to see that come to fruition sooner than later.”
Burk said any improvements to the east side will be made with a similar mindset to the North End Zone Project: “You’ll see again that multi-use space over there that benefits both game day as well as the other 360 (or so) days a year.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2025 at 6:58 PM.
