Holt Arena history walk opens to students and community

POCATELLO — The Holt Arena has been in use for 50 years. To commemorate that event, Idaho State University faculty, students, and members of the public are invited to participate in the Holt Arena History Walk. The commemorative walk includes 12 scannable QR codes placed around the campus with facts about the local landmark.

The ISU Marketing and Communications Office created the walk, in order to highlight the historic monument in a way that is both interactive and appropriate within restrictions of the current pandemic. The 12 stops placed throughout the campus are marked by signs and will stay up through the end of October, weather permitting.

These stops include:

• Two locations near the Holt Arena
• he Pond Student Union
• The Rendezvous Complex
• Red Hill
• Hutchinson Quadrangle
• The Technology Building
• Turner Hall
• Reed Gymnasium
• The Fine Arts Building
• The Swanson Arch
• The LDS Institute of Religion

School officials say that when Dubby Holt, a student-athlete and later director of athletics at ISU, first introduced the idea for the Holt Arena he was dismissed with the proposal being labeled as “harebrained” and “silly.” In 1969, the idea of an indoor football stadium was not feasible. But $2.8 million and 50 years later, the Holt Arena has now become home to three NCAA Sub-Regional Basketball Tournaments, three NCAA Division I-AA playoff games and two I-AA National Championship games. The Holt Arena has also played an important role in the community as multiple events outside of the college have taken place there.

More information about the walk, including a map and information about the history of the Holt Arena, can be found here.