Boise State breaks ground on $65 million Albertsons Stadium renovation

North End Zone Project will be complete in time for Broncos’ move to Pac-12 in 2026

Renderings of the new north end zone at Boise State's Albertsons Stadium. / Boise State University

Shovels hit the ground last weekend at Albertsons Stadium.

Boise State’s $65 million North End Zone Project, which was unveiled in May, is underway with a completion date of August 2026, Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey confirmed Saturday. The project, which includes 12 field-level suites, 44 loge boxes, 148 ledge seats and nearly 1,000 club seats, will give the Broncos one of the best facilities in the new Pac-12. 

Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State are all leaving the Mountain West Conference for the Pac-12 in 2026. 

“I knew we needed something epic,” Dickey said Saturday. “I would say that this separates us. Especially from a Group of 5 (perspective) and the standard we hold ourselves to, my goal is to be the best. And that’s what I fully expect from this facility.”

The project will fully enclose the stadium and reduce seating capacity from 36,363 to around 35,000. Boise State’s band, which currently uses the bleacher seating in the north end zone, will move to the south end zone. 

Dickey said that seat sales have gone well since the project was announced, but plenty of club seats remain available. Boise State sold out all seven home games during the 2024 season as the team went 12-2 overall and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. 

As the Broncos gear up for a move to the Pac-12, Dickey said that future projects will target the east side of Albertsons Stadium and renovations to ExtraMile Arena, which has no premium seating.

“We have to drive more revenue,” Dickey said. “We don’t need what everyone else has, we just need more than we’ve got. And this is going to give us an opportunity to create something that’s sustainable so we can revenue share with our student-athletes and continue to elevate.”

The Pac-12 has eight members signed up for the 2026-27 athletics season: Gonzaga, Oregon State, Washington State and the five Mountain West additions. The conference must add at least one more football-playing member before 2026 to reach the NCAA’s eight-team minimum to qualify as an FBS conference. Gonzaga does not field a football team.

The renovated Albertsons Stadium will compare favorably to the other seven football-playing schools in the new Pac-12. 

Colorado State (Canvas Stadium, 41,000 capacity) and San Diego State (Snapdragon Stadium, 35,000) opened new stadiums in 2017 and 2022, respectively.

Oregon State completed a $162 million renovation of Reser Stadium (35,548) in 2023. Utah State’s Maverik Stadium (25,513) and Washington State’s Martin Stadium (32,952) have also received facelifts in the last decade. 

Fresno State’s Valley Children’s Stadium, the new Pac-12’s second-biggest venue at 40,727, hasn’t undergone a major renovation since the early 1990s. 

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