The University of Idaho’s new ICCU Arena, a massive wooden structure that will host basketball games and more moving into the fall 2021 season, will be partially paid for with almost $19.5 million in student fees.
The final budget of $51 million for the project was approved by the Idaho State Board of Education in May 2019. A student fee of $30 per semester, per student, has been charged to pay the debt used to bridge finance the project, according to Senior Director of Communications Jodi Walker.
The fees, proposed by former UI President Chuck Staben, were first charged at half of what they are now. The hike in price was approved in April 2019 and was put into affect the next fall, after the university realized the project was going to cost more than expected.
The university has already collected nearly $2 million in student fees before the completion of the arena, through the end of June this year. Over the course of the next 35 years, the student body will provide $17.5 million for the repayment of the arena. The rest of the funding stems from private donations, including a $10 million donation from ICCU for the naming rights to the arena.
The original projected budget was approved at $30 million in June 2017. When the project went to bid it became obvious it was going to cost much more than expected, so the State Board approved a budget increase to $45 million.
The final cost was realized after “severe cost escalation during the time of construction,” Walker said in an email.
“That cost would be significantly more if we were to go to bid now,” Walker stated.
Student fees approved by students
The fees were proposed by Staben, but ASUI and the State Board needed to give the OK in order for them to be enacted and collected.
Nicole Skinner, ASUI president in 2018-19, said she and her team at the time approved of raising the fees from $15 to $30 because they felt the project already had so much work into it and it would be wasted if the project was tossed due to lack of funds.
“I remember being a little frustrated when I was first presented with this issue, and I think a lot of students were,” Skinner said. “I feel like a lot of university supporters and alumni were frustrated with the discrepancy in the budget. The estimate was so far off.”
Skinner said she was pleased with the idea of having a multipurpose arena to fill the gap between the small Memorial Gym and the massive Kibbie Dome. The arena was not the issue, but the budget was, she said.
At the time, ASUI was trying to figure out how to keep the arena construction on track while getting the best out of the deal for students. They took the opportunity to use the negotiation power they had to get some long-wanted projects rolling.
Skinner and her team negotiated for an official Idaho Student Union Building, with a student union to help organize it, in the Commons building in the center of campus.
“As the student government, we were doing what we could with the situation, but I felt some of those same feelings of frustration (other students were feeling), just regarding the lack of preparedness, so it was complicated but I think we did what we had to do,” Skinner said.
How will the ICCU Arena help students?
The arena features two full-size courts, one surrounded by seating that can accommodate over 4,000 people while the other is a practice court, and will host events like concerts, special lectures and more, Senior Associate Athletic Director Matt Martin said.
“We’ve already had classes in there,” Martin said. “The mass timber construction is a pretty innovative method of construction because of the sustainability of wood, versus using steel or concrete, which is traditionally what you would build a basketball arena with. We’ve had students and classes looking at that and learning from that, so it continues to be a living laboratory.”
Other benefits for students, particularly those on athletic teams, is that basketball will have their own space for practices and games. This will make scheduling space in Memorial Gym easier for those who use it, including club sports, the volleyball team and other various campus entities.
There will also be a full-time alumni welcome center in the arena, Martin said.
“The goal is to make the ICCU Arena a home for our students, where they feel like this is theirs and they can utilize it,” Martin said.
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @antxiam5
bruce sykes
With the end of construction for the new arena looming closer, students can soon use what they are paying for. Students will be paying $30/per semester for what??? 99% of students at the UI will never use this facility.