Bronco Stadium Bronco Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in Boise , Idaho , the home field of the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference . Since 1997 , it has hosted the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl ( Humanitarian Bowl from 1997 – Jan . 2004 & 2007 – 10 ; MPC Computers Bowl from 2004 – 06 ) , the longest - running outdoor bowl game in a cold - weather venue . Opened in 1970 , Bronco Stadium was also a track & field stadium ; it hosted the NCAA track & field championships twice , in 1994 and 1999 . The stadium was used extensively for local high school football for decades until August 2012 , when games were transferred to the new Dona Larsen Park , which is also the new home venue of Boise State ' s track & field team . Bronco Stadium is widely known for its unusual blue playing surface , installed in 1986 as the first non - green playing surface ( outside of painted end zones ) in football history and remains the only one among NCAA Division I FBS schools . Location . Bronco Stadium is located at the east end of the BSU campus , bordered by Broadway Avenue to the east , University Drive to the south , and the Boise River to the north . The elevation of its playing field is above sea level . History . Bronco Stadium is the fourth venue and second of the same name at Boise State ; the three on - campus stadiums were built in 1940 , 1950 , and 1970 , respectively . Public School Field . During its first years at its original campus , BJC football was played at " Public School Field , " located three blocks north - northeast of today ' s Bronco Stadium . The site was the home of East Junior High School from 1953 to 2009 , and was remodeled and became Dona Larsen Park in 2012 . College Field . After the college moved to its present campus in 1940 , " College Field " opened in September 1940 with lights and a seating capacity of 1 , 000 . Also called " Chaffee Field , " it was used through 1949 for junior college football ( photo - 1940s ) . In the 1950s it became the baseball field , until right field was displaced by the construction of the Student Union Building , which opened in 1967 . The baseball field migrated slightly east , then north , until it was eliminated in 1980 by the construction of the BSU Pavilion and the relocation of the tennis courts . ( Baseball was dropped by both BSU and Idaho following the 1980 season ; the Broncos played their home games at Borah Field during their final season . ) Bronco Stadium ( I ) . The first " Bronco Stadium " was built in three months in 1950 at the east end of campus , with wooden grandstands , a natural grass playing field , lights , and a cinder running track ; seating capacity was 10 , 000 . It was in approximately the same location as the present stadium , but aligned northwest to southeast . ( photo - 1964 ) The 45 - degree offset was designed to keep the mid - afternoon sun of mid - October out of the players ' eyes ( but put it into the eyes of half of the spectators ) . Through 1968 , the University of Idaho Vandals usually played one home game per season in Boise , at the original Bronco Stadium . After Boise State joined the Big Sky in 1970 , Idaho discontinued its practice of scheduling home games in Boise . ( Idaho did use the new Bronco Stadium for a " home " game in 1971 , but it was against Boise State in the first football game ever played between the schools . Idaho ' s new stadium on campus in Moscow was behind schedule so the university rented Bronco Stadium for its opening game . The underdog " visitors " of Boise State built a 28 - 7 lead at halftime and won handily 42 - 14 and a rivalry game was born . ) The Boise College football program upgraded from junior college to four - year status in 1968 and competed as an NAIA independent for two seasons . The school became Boise State College in 1969 and the Broncos were accepted into the NCAA in October . A month later they were voted into the Big Sky Conference , effective fall 1970 . Following the 1969 football season , the first Bronco Stadium was razed in November and the new concrete stadium was ready for play in less than ten months . Bronco Stadium ( II ) . Boise State began NCAA competition in 1970 in Division II ( " " College Division " " prior to 1973 ) in a brand new venue . The first game at the new Bronco Stadium was on September 11th , a 49 – 14 victory over Chico State . The $ 2 . 2 million concrete stadium opened with a seating capacity of 14 , 500 and a green AstroTurf playing field , configured in the traditional north - south direction , and an all - weather running track . For its first five seasons , the stadium consisted of two sideline grandstands , the west side having an upper deck and the press box . ( photo - 1971 ) Boise State became a charter member of NCAA Division II when the NCAA reorganized the former College Division in 1973 . Following the 1974 season , the school ' s first as Boise State University , an upper deck was added to the east side ( photo - 1971 ) - ( photo - 1975 ) , adding 5 , 500 seats as well as symmetry to the stadium . The permanent seating capacity grew to 20 , 000 for its Bronco Stadium ' s sixth season in 1975 , with up to 2 , 600 temporary seats available in the north end zone seating for bigger games . The original green artificial turf was replaced with the same in 1978 as the Big Sky Conference and the Broncos moved up to the newly formed Division I - AA . ( photo - mid 1980s ) The Broncos moved to the Big West and Division I - A in 1996 , which resulted in another stadium expansion . The two - tier grandstands were extended around the corners of the south end zone , raising the permanent seating capacity to 30 , 000 in 1997 . The latest stadium expansion was completed in time for the 2008 season , with the addition of the Stueckle Sky Club press box , luxury suites , loge boxes , and club seating ; raising the capacity to 32 , 000 . In the summer of 2009 , 1 , 500 additional bleacher seats were added to the south end zone to bring capacity up to 33 , 500 . Prior to the 2012 season , expanded bleacher sections were added to the north and south end zones , expanding capacity to a total of 37 , 000 . Lyle Smith Field . During its eleventh season , the playing field at Bronco Stadium was named Lyle Smith Field during the I - AA national championship season of 1980 . Ceremonies during halftime of the 14 – 3 victory over Nevada on November 8 marked the event . It honors Lyle H . Smith , the head coach from 1947 – 67 and athletic director from 1968 – 81 , overseeing BSU ' s rise from the junior college ranks to Division I - AA champions in 1980 . Smith led Boise , as BJC , to multiple post - season bowls , including the 1958 national junior college championship , and compiled an overall record of 156 – 26 – 8 ( . 848 ) , which included five undefeated seasons and 16 conference titles . He was also the baseball coach for 17 seasons and served as basketball coach for a season at the school . Smith hired Tony Knap to replace himself as football coach in 1968 , and Jim Criner to replace Knap in 1976 . Bronco Stadium ' s current attendance record is 36 , 864 , set on September 20 , 2012 against BYU . The field was used by video artist Matthew Barney , in the first of his " Cremaster " videos . Blue artificial turf . Bronco Stadium is best known for its distinctive blue playing surface , the only non - green football playing surface among Division I FBS programs . Chris Berman of ESPN has also called Boise ' s turf " The Blue Plastic Tundra , " a joking reference to " the frozen tundra " of Lambeau Field . Another nickname for the surface is " Smurf Turf . " Players refer to it simply as " The Blue . " After 16 seasons of playing on standard green AstroTurf , athletic director Gene Bleymaier came up with the idea to install the blue turf . He decided that , if BSU was going to spend $ 750 , 000 on a new surface , he didn ' t want to see BSU install yet another green field , and that a blue field might provide some national notoriety for the school , then a member of the Big Sky Conference . Bleymaier gained the support of BSU President John Keiser , and on September 13 , Bronco Stadium introduced its unique playing surface to the world with a 74 - 0 victory over Division II Humboldt State . ( BSU was 4 - 2 at home in 1986 , but managed just one road victory and posted their first losing record in four decades , resulting in the resignation of fourth - year head coach Lyle Setencich . ) BSU replaced the first blue AstroTurf with the same in 1995 , then with blue Astroplay ( a grass - like synthetic surface that is more forgiving than traditional AstroTurf ) in 2002 . The AstroPlay field lasted just six seasons and was replaced in the summer of 2008 with blue FieldTurf surface . Due to complaints by fans that the reflection and glare off the field gave the new field a dull and uneven shade of blue , FieldTurf agreed to replace the field free of charge . The fifth blue turf was installed in the summer of 2010 . The unique blue turf has spawned several myths . The most prevalent is that the NCAA subsequently banned playing surface colors other than green , but allowed Bronco Stadium ' s field to remain blue under a grandfather clause . In reality , the NCAA has never adopted such a rule . Any school may color its playing surface ( or any part , mainly the end zones ) any color it wishes . Indeed , other schools have non - green football fields including the University of New Haven ( blue ) and Eastern Washington University ( red ) . On April 1 , 2011 , the University of Central Arkansas announced that they would install a purple and grey striped field to Estes Stadium . In 2012 , Lindenwood University in Belleville , Illinois , played their first football season , on a home field with alternating maroon and gray stripes . Nine high schools also have non - green fields : Barrow High School in Barrow , Alaska , Lovington High School in Lovington , New Mexico , West Hills High School in Santee , California ( alternating royal and sky blue every five yards ) , Hidalgo High School in Hidalgo , Texas ( navy ) , Chaminade College Preparatory School in the Los Angeles neighborhood of West Hills , Oxford High School in Oxford , Michigan , New Braunfels ( Texas ) Canyon High ( red ) and Canutillo High School in El Paso , Texas . Another myth is that , mistaking the blue field for a large body of water , birds have flown into the blue turf and to their deaths . Although Broncos coach Chris Petersen claimed to have found a dead duck on the field in 2007 , the origin of the duck on the field has never been confirmed . BSU ' s blue turf has become such a highly visible icon for the Broncos that BSU obtained a U . S . trademark registration for a blue athletics field in November , 2009 . In 2011 , the NFL banned any playing surface color other than green , naming the rule the " Boise Rule " in reference to the university , though this was more a reaction to sponsor influence as no team had ever proposed a different turf color for their field . Also in 2011 , the Mountain West Conference banned Boise from wearing their all - blue uniforms during home conference games , after complaints from other Mountain West coaches that it was an unfair advantage . However , the uniform restriction will be removed from the 2013 season forward , as part of the deal that kept Boise State in the MW after it had originally planned to leave the conference . Current / future expansion . As the Boise State football program rose to national prominence in the early 2000s , Bronco Stadium became increasingly insufficient . The school completed a 3 - story complex on the stadium ' s west side called the Stueckle Sky Club ( pronounced " Stickle " ) . Construction began on it on February 11 , 2007 , and it officially opened on August 27 , 2008 with a gala for ticket holders prior to the first game on August 30th . It features levels for a new press box , luxury suites , loge boxes , and club seating and increased seating capacity to 32 , 000 . The practice facility , named the Caven - Williams Sports Complex , officially opened in February 2006 , and it is located immediately northwest of Bronco Stadium . Additional temporary seating of 1 , 500 was added prior to the 2009 season . The removable bleachers increased capacity to 33 , 500 . Permanent bleachers were also added to the north and south end zones prior to the 2012 season , raising Bronco Stadium ' s capacity to a total of 37 , 000 . In late August 2010 , new expansion plans were revealed for Bronco Stadium . The first stages were to include adding a new facility to the north endzone to house the football offices , weight room , training room , equipment room and locker room . Plans also included a 13 , 200 seat grandstand . The later stages of the expansion plan included removal of the track , lowering of the field , and adding 3 , 300 seats in front of the first deck of the stadium , completion of the south endzone horseshoe , building of an east side skybox , and renovation of the east side concourse . The total cost for all planned expansions was around $ 100 million . The total seating capacity for a fully expanded Bronco Stadium was estimated to be around 53 , 000 . The Boise State athletic director aims to have the north endzone complex open in time for the 2013 season and does not resemble the 2010 plans . Home dominance . During Boise State ' s recent streak of conference championships , Bronco Stadium has proven to be a tough place for opponents . As of November 3 , 2012 , the Broncos are 86 – 4 at home since the 1999 season with the only losses being to Washington State in 2001 , AP # 18 Boston College in the 2005 MPC Computers Bowl , TCU in 2011 and to San Diego State in 2012 . The Broncos won 47 straight home conference games from 1999 to 2011 and were undefeated in conference during their 10 years in the WAC ( 40 – 0 ) . The Broncos are 83 – 3 in regular season home games since 1999 . They had a winning streak of 65 regular season games from the 2001 to 2011 seasons .