Collapse seemed to be the catchphrase in and around the Cowan Spectrum Saturday and the Idaho men’s basketball team — which suffered a major letdown of its own in the second half of a one-point conference loss to Seattle U., — didn’t even produce the biggest flop of the evening.
Hours before a game-clock malfunction gave the visiting team a second opportunity to inbound the ball, and score the eventual game-winner, it was the Spectrum that was falling apart.
Nearly an hour before tipoff, a power outage forced both Seattle and Idaho to warm up in a pitch black gym. But wait, there’s more.
Twenty minutes after the lights were revived, a three-row chunk of the student-section bleachers fell backward, resulting in a loud thump that most could hear. Fans had yet to occupy the section and no one was injured — potentially the only positive that has come out of the low attendance figures this basketball season.
The game clock mishap topped off an evening of unfortunate events that only added to the cries for a basketball-only arena, something Idaho fans, coaches and athletes alike have yearned for.
“That’s why we need an events center,” Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spear told the Spokesman-Review, also noting the bleachers had never collapsed before.
Saturday’s accident posed a serious threat that could have caused severe injury had the section been occupied. The sets of rows, which each extend approximately 20 feet wide and sit anywhere from 20-25 people comfortably, have been jam-packed on a number of occasions — primarily when in-state rivals Boise State, and ex-WAC rivals Utah State came to town. Of course, the bleachers stand more than 20-feet tall.
Not only has this venue become a hazardous one, judging by Saturday’s events, but the Cowan Spectrum continues to reek of humiliation and embarrassment — a football stadium-turned arena that is unsuitable for a Division I basketball program that can’t maximize its potential until an events center is in place.
Spear and University of Idaho administrators have drawn up plans for this project, which currently is in a “six-year plan,” meaning the Idaho State Board of Education will have to hear a proposal from UI before it can move forward.
The upcoming Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, taking place in the Kibbie Dome, is another vivid representation of the Spectrum’s inconvenience. Both the Idaho men’s and women’s basketball teams will be relocated to Memorial Gym for a total of three games before returning to their home floor.
While the athletic department has made progress with this so-called “six-year plan,” immediacy should be a priority — rather than settling with basketball on the 50-yard line.
— TL