Idaho working on Kibbie Dome expansion

The University of Idaho is working on plans to expand the Kibbie Dome and build an events center, athletic director Rob Spear said.

Preliminary plans call for the west-end wall of the Kibbie Dome to be knocked out to make room for 6,000-7,000 new end zone seats. Adjacent to those new seats would be a 5,000-6,000-seat events center, which would house men’s and women’s basketball as well as campus events. The events center would be connected to the Dome, but would essentially be a stand-alone facility for basketball, Spear said. It would extend west toward the Dan O’Brien outdoor track and field complex.

Idaho basketball currently plays home games inside the Dome in the Cowan Spectrum, which has portable bleachers on three sides with long, black curtains serving as a backdrop to give it more of an arena feel. Idaho football has played in the 16,000-seat Kibbie Dome since 1975. The east and west walls of the Kibbie Dome currently prevent end zone seating.

“We’re working on the plans and hope to be able to announce something soon,” Spear said.

There was no cost estimate immediately available for the projects. Spear hopes to announce firm plans sometime before the Vandals spring football game, which is April 21.

In recent years, Idaho has added new locker rooms and team rooms, a speed and strength center and a SprinTurf practice football field with lights.

In an unrelated project, Idaho plans on installing a digital video replay screen on the east-end wall of the Dome. The 22-by-11 screen would hang next to the goal posts and be roughly the same size as the existing scoreboard on the other side of the goal posts.

“We knew we wanted to get it because we knew we were moving toward replay (in the WAC),” Dome manager Tom McGann said. “So if we’re doing it, we might as well show (replays) to the fans.”

The replay system will cost about $500,000, a considerable discount for the Daktronics state-of-the-art system, McGann said.

“Someone else ordered it and it fell through,” McGann said. “And (Daktronics) came back and it fit our price structure.”

Dubois departing

Idaho men’s basketball forward David Dubois, who started 27 games as a true freshman, is leaving the program, according to the Argonaut, the UI student newspaper. Dubois said one of the main reasons he’s leaving was his affinity for ex-coach Leonard Perry, who was fired after last year’s 4-25 campaign.

“Now that he’s gone, I really don’t feel like staying around,” Dubois told the Argonaut.

Dubois, a 6-foot-5, 215-pounder from Madison, Wis., averaged 8.4 points and a team-high 4.8 rebounds.

Spear said Dubois hasn’t asked for his release.

“I haven’t talked to him directly and we need to have a discussion about his future,” Spear said.