Boise State University students maintain social distance in one of two classrooms opened at ExtraMile Arena. (Courtesy Boise State Arena) Boise State arena, PAC emerge from shutdown with an academic mission There are butts in seats once again in ExtraMile Arena at Boise State University, but the draw this week wasn’t Metallica or Elton John, Keith Urban or Blake Shelton — all acts that have played the 13,400-capacity venue, which is home to the school’s men’s and women’s basketball and women’s gymnastics teams. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the arena, which in the past has been used for commencement ceremonies, convocations and similar events, has been repurposed to house two classrooms in a physically distanced setting for the school term that began Monday. Also being used this fall for academic purposes — in this case, theater classes — is the Boise, Idaho, campus’ 2,000-plus-seat Morrison Center for the Performing… Continue Reading ‘A New Kind of Purpose for the Campus’