Ground was broken in 1969 to replace the original Bronco Stadium, a small facility built in 1950 for junior college football. The football program upgraded to Division II in 1968 and the new $2.2 million concrete stadium opened in 1970 with a seating capacity of 14,500. The first game at the stadium was on September 11th, with a 49-14 victory over Chico State. The original playing field was green Astroturf and was configured in the traditional north-south direction. For its first five seasons, the stadium consisted of two sideline grandstands, the west side having an upper deck and the press box.

Following the 1974 season, an upper deck was added to the east side, adding 5,500 seats as well as symmetry to the stadium. The permanent seating capacity grew to 20,000 for 1975, with up to 2,600 temporary seats available for end zone seating during bigger games. The green astroturf was replaced with the same in 1978 as the Big Sky Conference and the Broncos moved up to the newly formed Division I-AA. The Broncos moved to the Big West Conference and Division I-A in 1996, and the stadium was expanded again. The two-tier grandstands were extended around the corners of the south end zone, raising the permanent seating capacity to 30,000 in 1997.

During its eleventh season, the field 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 8th marked the event. It honors Lyle H. Smith, the head coach from 67 and athletic director from 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.

In 1986, after sixteen seasons of playing on standard green Astroturf, the university installed the bright blue synthetic surface for which Bronco Stadium is often known for. It was replaced with the same in 1995, as a part of a two-year major stadium expansion which brought the seating capacity to 30,000 seats, as BSU transitioned to Division I-A status from Division I-AA's Big Sky Conference.

By 1997, the sideline grandstands had been extended to wrap around the corners of the south end zone, along the orange-colored Ed Jacoby Track. Also added were the Allen Noble Hall of Fame Gallery and the Larry and Marianne Williams Plaza to the southwest corner. Both are attached to the Nicholson-Yanke Athletic Center, an original part of the stadium, as is the Fedrizzi Fitness Center Annex (1988/2004) and the Bronco Football Complex (2000). Since the running track is still in use, the end zone seats remain temporary. The blue astroturf was replaced during the summer of 2002 with blue AstroPlay, similar to FieldTurf, a more forgiving synthetic field surface. The AstroPlay field lasted just six seasons and was replaced in the summer of 2008 with a fourth blue field, this time a blue-colored FieldTurf surface.

Bronco Stadium Expansion to 30,000

The $9.35 million project includes seating additions on the southwest and southeast corners to increase capacity to 30,000, and the construction of the Allen Noble Hall of Fame Gallery and Larry and Marianne Williams Plaza at the southwest corner of the stadium.

The gallery and plaza will provide quality socializing and display space for Boise State academic and athletic related activities.

Showcased within the gallery will be the plaques of the Boise State Athletic Hall of Famers, photos of Bronco Associates Endowment Donors, pictures of Bronze Bronco recipients, championship trophies and banners and other memorabilia items which portrays men's and women's athletics throughout the years.

A museum like atmosphere will provide viewers with a trip through time. Visitors to the gallery will be able to view films of past athletic events on a big screen in the theater area.

The Bronco Athletic Association offices will be relocated to the gallery with additional space for meetings, storage, and staff/volunteer work areas. A catering kitchen will enhance the socializing aspects of the gallery along with outside decking which overlooks Bronco Stadium and the Boise mountains.

Square footage for the gallery is 13,400 with the display portion over 9,000 square feet.

Originally constructed with 14,500 seats at a cost of $2.2 million in 1970, this current project marks the second time the Bronco Stadium has been expanded. In 1974, the east side upper deckwas added increasing this permanent seating capacity to 20,000. Portable end zone seating currently has the capacity of Bronco Stadium at 22,600.

Boise State will continue to play its home games on the only blue Astro Turf field in the United States. This is the second blue field installed at Bronco Stadium. Boise State established a first in 1986 by installing the first blue Astro Turf football field. There were two previous green Astro Turf fields installed prior to 1986. The first was during the original construction of the current stadium in 1970, with the second installed prior to the 1978 season.

Boise State Broncos Bronco Stadium 1970-Present