THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: May 25, 2014
Boise State football is such a big deal in our state's capital city that even something as pedestrian as the awarding of naming rights for a football stadium creates a stir.
Bronco Stadium is now Albertsons Stadium - for the sum of $12.5 million over the next 15 years.
I figure if you can get anybody to give you money for the name of something that's already there anyway - go for it; and the more money the merrier.
And while that figure is less than what it costs to slap your name on an NFL stadium - Reliant Energy pays the Houston Texans $10 million per year for the Texans to play in Reliant Stadium - it seems in line with the going rate for college football stadiums.
And, few things are more Boise than Albertsons - the store was founded there in 1939. However, if the grocery giant insists on the media referring to Boise State's skill position players as The Produce Department, or the offensive linemen as The Meat Department, well, that might be taking this sponsorship thing a bit too far.
STILL, YOU wonder what other sponsors might have been interested in putting their name on Boise State's football stadium, if given the chance - the one prerequisite being the business had to have ties to Boise.
Here's a couple options:
* The Idaho Candy Company Stadium: Sweet!
The company was founded in 1901, and a factory opened in Boise in 1909 which still operates today.
The Idaho Spud candy bar, a mixture of a marshmallow center with chocolate coating, sprinkled with coconut flakes an shaped like a potato, is produced there.
The company could promote itself by passing out free candy to fans entering the stadium - with the stipulation said fans don't use the freebies as projectiles if the game starts to go badly.
* Roady's Truck Stop: This chain of independently owned truck stops in headquartered in nearby New Plymouth, so it keeps with having a local tie as a sponsor.
Every big play by the Broncos would be celebrated by the familiar double-honk sound from a semi.
Vandal fans would say this would be a fitting name for the Broncos' football stadium, joking that BSU is where people go to learn to become truck drivers. Of course, Bronco fans would respond with the fact their team has bludgeoned Idaho so badly over the last decade or so that Boise State no longer needs to schedule Idaho because there is nothing for the Broncos to gain by playing the Vandals anymore.
Boise State football remains popular with the folks at ESPN, and it's the Broncos who are striving to remain an option in the new college football playoff.
And also, BSU fans can counter, where's the line of businesses forming to plaster their name on the Kibbie Dome?
Roady's did sponsor the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise for three years, so at least there would be some familiarity there.
* This next business has no ties to Boise, but would be fitting in a cynical sort of way. It would be an ode to the days when BSU finally left the WAC to join the Mountain West, then quickly wanted to ditch the Mountain West and join the Big East, then when they found out the Big East wasn't going to be the road to the big time that they thought it would be, quickly got out of that agreement and, amazingly, was welcomed back with open arms to the Mountain West, the league they tried to ditch.
The closest restaurant in this chain is some 750 miles from Boise (road trip!), but if it wanted to open up a restaurant in Idaho's capital city, it would be a perfect fit. This restaurant doesn't serve pancakes, but it might change its mind for marketing reasons - for example, for each pancake block by a Boise State player, fans could be treated to a stack of that particular food item at this place.
We're dreaming here, but if that were indeed to happen, the Broncos' football stadium could be called ... The Waffle House.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.