Originally named the ASISU Minidome—named after the Associated Students of Idaho State University, who funded construction—it opened in 1970 at the north end of the ISU campus. Holt Arena is the oldest enclosed stadium on a college campus in the United States and the second-oldest overall. Only the Houston Astrodome, completed in 1965, predates it. Since the Astrodome's 2006 closure Holt Arena has been the oldest enclosed stadium in use. The original artificial turf installed in 1970 was Poly-Turf. The venue was renamed in 1988 to honor Milton W. "Dubby" Holt, ISU's athletic director from 1967 to 1989. As assistant athletic director, Holt conceived the indoor arena in 1966 and it was designed by architect Cedric M. Allen. Although a controversial design proposal for the time, ISU students voted to appropriate not more than $2.8 million to the project two years later. The arena was built entirely with these voluntary student funds. With over 56% in favor, ISU students approved a $12 increase in semester fees to fund the stadium in early 1968. After 41 football seasons on Poly-Turf and AstroTurf, infilled synthetic turf was installed in Holt Arena in July 2011. Similar to FieldTurf, the SoftTop Removable Matrix System is also installed in AT&T Stadium in the NFL.
Spud Bowl
Holt Arena replaced the outdoor "Spud Bowl" as the Bengals' home football stadium in 1970. At the south end of campus, Davis Field continues as the home venue for outdoor track and field and soccer.
Additional uses
Holt Arena also serves as home for the ISU indoor track and field team and men's basketball team. It also hosts high school football games, the famous Simplot Gameshigh schoolindoor track meet, along with other sporting events, rodeos, concerts, and other activities. During ISU's run in basketball to the Elite Eight in 1977, they won the Big Sky regular season title, which allowed them to host the four-team conference tournament, which they also won. The Bengals were allowed to stay home for the first round of the 32-team NCAA tournament, as the Minidome had a pair of first round games on Saturday, March 12. UCLA defeated Louisville and hometown ISU beat Long Beach State. Between the Big Sky tourney and the NCAA games, the venue also hosted the state's three-day A-1 high school championship tournament. Following the success of the Minidome, several other colleges built enclosed stadiums, including the Kibbie Dome at the University of Idaho in Moscow, which was enclosed in 1975 after four years as an outdoor stadium, and the Walkup Skydome at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, opened in 1977. It is one of three indoor football stadiums currently in use in the Big Sky Conference, along with the Kibbie Dome and Walkup Skydome. During the final six seasons of Idaho's absence from Big Sky football, the Alerus Center at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks was another indoor stadium used in Big Sky football, but UND left the Big Sky after the 2017 football season. Holt Arena features of floor space; the building is recessed below grade and rises above grade at its highest point. Holt Arena hosted the 2018 Convention of the Idaho Republican Party, which was held June 28 through June 30.
