BOISE, Idaho — Friday fans will head to Albertsons Stadium to watch the Broncos play on the Blue Turf for the first time this season. The team is facing off against Eastern Washington University, another school in the Northwest that boasts a colorful turf. Both schools spoke with Idaho News 6, on how they manage their unique fields.
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“How much had you heard about ‘the endzones are yellow’ or ‘your need to paint them or change them,' a lot?” asked Idaho News 6 Boise State Reporter Allie Triepke.
“I don’t think we got too many complaints. Now that you see it, it’s like ‘Wow, that’s a lot different’,” said Nathan Burk, senior associate athletic director, operations and governance at Boise State.
But bigger changes are coming in the spring, as Boise State plans to completely replace its iconic Blue Turf ahead of the 2026 season, in step with construction on the North End Zone Project.
“Next year we’ve got a new conference, that means new conference logos, we’ve got the North End Zone construction going on right now, so we decided to try and stretch our field another year,” said Burk.
Meanwhile, up north, Eastern Washington is prepping for the match-up on their own splash of color, the fiery red turf they call The Inferno.
“We like it because it obviously matches our colors and gives us a unique, iconic name, our field is called ‘The Inferno’ for a reason – Every football player that’s ever played on a turf field knows that it’s hotter than a grass field,” said Dave Early, director of recreation and athletic facilities at Eastern Washington University.
Early gave a virtual tour of the red turf, showing that artificial fields demand more upkeep than most fans realize.
“A fun fact is that this field is sewn together. This white piece with black outline was patched in. We have to periodically go in and reglue these down and make sure they don’t become a hazard out here,” said Early.
Back on The Blue, Boise State crews echo that same message— keeping the field pristine is a year-round job.
“We have to come out here and basically vacuum it with a concourse sweeper, we have to brush it to get the fibers to stand up. So I think that would be something surprising to people [is] the amount of hours that we spend out here on this field,” said Burk.
New this season, Boise State fans will have a new interactive map online to help find entry gates, concession stands, and more.
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