MOSCOW, Idaho - Unique always has been a good way to describe the University of Idaho's Kibbie Dome - one of just two on-campus FBS indoor football stadiums.

When the Vandals kick off the 2011 season, an exclamation point can be added with the unveiling of a premium seating section that will be like no other. Instead of suites and loge boxes looming a helicopter ride above the field, Idaho's fans will be right on top of the action. So near, director of athletics Rob Spear quipped, fans will be "close enough to make tackles."

"This is going to be the crown jewel of this whole renovation project," said Spear as he described the club seating, club room, loge boxes and suites that will open in September. "Those will be the best seats in college football."

Spear isn't just hyping his project. Architect Alec Holser of Opsis Architecture has visited football stadiums far and wide. Nowhere were premium seats 100 or fewer feet from the action.

"These luxury seats and private suites are some of the closest to the action of any home field," Holser said. "Direct access to the club room above will give seat holders a truly unique gathering place where one feels the rush of the game unlike any skybox in the country."

The August unveiling of the Litehouse Center and the Bud and June Ford Clubroom marks the end of the second phase of a massive renovation of the 35-year old structure. Everything from student-athlete services to life safety measures to the gameday experience have been covered in the two phases totaling more than $30 million.

The University covered the cost of the life safety measures included in the project, which includes the end wall replacements and the fire suppression system installed in the roof last summer. As for the premium seating, that was up to Vandal Athletics and the drive was met with an enthusiastic response.

"We wanted to make sure we did this right," Spear said. "People have stepped up. They understood the importance of this. Now we can take advantage of an opportunity to get people out in front to be able to observe a football game unlike anywhere in the country."

Almost as welcome as the new look is putting to rest years of speculation about a Kibbie remodel. In August, it will be done.

"We no longer are talking about something happening to the Kibbie Dome," Spear said. "It is happening."

There is more to premium seats than just great place to be on game day. The new seating section will serve as a revenue generator as Idaho Athletics - like other departments nationwide, finds innovate ways to add to the coffers.

"We need to generate more revenue. Premium seats are one way to do that," Spear said. "They are part of our long-range plan to increase our resource base for our department of athletics."

As work continues through the winter and into spring and summer 2011, the premium seating project will emerge along with the replacement of the east end wall - the second piece of a life safety measure that started with the removal of the plywood west wall and the installation of  translucent panels to give a daylight feel.

"It's really going to transform the look of this structure and create a modernized facility for the University of Idaho," Spear said. "It's going to transform the Kibbie Dome into what we feel is the best home-field advantage in the country."

Athletics isn't the only beneficiary of the project. Spear is quick to note the multiple uses of the Kibbie Dome. In addition to being the home to Vandal Athletics, it is a university and community resource. Everything from intramural sports to graduation to the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival to the community's annual home and garden show and the Shrine Circus find a home at the Kibbie Dome. An estimated 300,000 patrons use it every year.

"The Kibbie Dome," Spear said, "is for everybody."

What fans will see this fall, however, isn't the end of Spear's vision.  The third phase is to lower the field, which would increase capacity by 8,000-10,000 by taking advantage of Kibbie's volume and utilizing the endzones.

 "We have great potential when you look at the volume of the Kibbie Dome," Spear said. "It is important we have a larger venue."

And it's essential to enrich the home of Vandal Athletics.

"We have a very unique structure here," Spear said. "It is important we enhance that uniqueness."