Boise State’s new North End Zone made its long-awaited debut in the Broncos’ 38-20 comeback win over Memphis last weekend, and the reaction around Albertsons Stadium split fast.
The $70 million project sat out all of last season while the old metal stands were replaced by a two-story setup that includes a field-level club, new locker rooms and seating for 1,600 fans. On the field, coach Spencer Danielson liked what he saw - especially the new player entrance, where the team runs past fans through the club area.
“I thought it was awesome,” Danielson said on Monday.
But the look and the sound drew plenty of criticism from fans in other parts of the stadium. Some said the end zone felt empty. Others said it sounded noticeably different from the rest of the building.
Athletic Director Jeremiah Dickey pushed back online, saying “all suites, loges and ledge seats were full,” but the design itself creates a very different feel from old-school bleachers. There’s more open space between fans, with large wood panels and metal fencing around the loge boxes giving the section a more segmented look. The ledge seats in the corners also had empty spots during the game, and the center section, with its wood-panel backdrop, drew comparisons that had nothing to do with a football stadium.
Danielson said he didn’t spend much time studying the visual side of the new end zone, but he was clear about what he wants from it.
“I didn’t notice a lot,” Danielson said about how the North End Zone looked or sounded. “Obviously, we need all hands on deck, and I want this thing as loud as possible. So please get to your seats to make sure we bring it.”
The debate played out on social media all weekend, with Dickey jumping into the conversation repeatedly. One fan wrote, “It sucked to see the whole NEZ empty the whole game,” adding, “... It was embarrassing seeing the whole end zone empty and not having the true fans cheering there.”
Dickey answered that the seats were not empty and said the club areas weren’t packed in the first half because of the sun.
“Club seats in (the) sun were half full until (the) sun went down. People were inside/outside at the two clubs,” Dickey wrote.
“Those people are also true fans. ... And they are funding the department at a very high level.”
He later reiterated that the section was full, while another response leaned even harder into the financial side of the project. Dickey said the “funding is extremely impactful and important.” The cheapest season-long tickets in the North End Zone are $3,000 for a club seat, $3,500 for a ledge seat and $15,000 for a loge box.
A former Bronco also weighed in. Aaron Tevis, who played linebacker at Boise State from 2008 to 2011, posted video along with the comment, “Just an observation that might want to be addressed @JeramiahDickey, the North End is exponentially quieter than every previous game I’ve experienced. Could use them on defense.”
Not every reaction was negative, though. Some fans praised the atmosphere and the new look, including one who wrote, “Atmosphere was great. Walls of standing folks on the west side when it mattered,” and another, Simon Avalos, who said, “They killed it with the North Endzone project!”
Avalos added, “Facilities are amazing, vibe was legit, watching the team run out of the tunnel on the bottom floor was epic, and plenty of people were in attendance. Go Broncos!”
Boise State gets another shot at the North End Zone this weekend when South Dakota visits Albertsons Stadium on Saturday at 8 p.m. The section is sold out, but tickets remain available elsewhere in the stadium starting at $78.
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