Nampa Council votes 4-2 to convey Fort Idaho Center to College of Western Idaho

The Nampa City Council voted 4–2 Tuesday to convey ownership of the Fort Idaho Center to the College of Western Idaho (CWI), approving a conveyance that city staff and the college say is intended to preserve the site’s community uses while shifting long-term operating and capital responsibility away from city taxpayers.

The council’s vote followed a three-hour public hearing that drew more than two dozen speakers and extensive presentations from city staff, legal counsel and CWI leaders. The motion to convey — which the council placed conditionally on final legal review and the inclusion of deed restrictions and a facilities‑use agreement — passed on a roll call of Rodriguez: no; Bills: yes; Haverfield: no; Griffin: yes; Anguilla: yes; Reynolds: yes.

City staff framed the vote as a fiscal and operational choice. Clay Long, the city’s chief of staff, told the council the venue has required significant city support over two decades: “Over the past roughly 20 years that the city has been the custodian of the Fort Idaho Center Complex, there has yet to be a year where the complex has had a net positive before city contributions,” Long said during a staff presentation. Long’s slides and staff presentations cited roughly $22.3 million in cumulative city funding for operations and capital over the life of the facility and identified deferred-maintenance needs the city estimated in the budget scenario at about $2 million annually in the near term.

Why it mattered

The Fort Idaho Center complex — which includes the amphitheater, arena and the Idaho Horse Park — has been an anchor for local events including the Snake River Stampede, equestrian competitions and concerts. Supporters of the conveyance argued that CWI, as a growing regional college with a large campus in Nampa and an active foundation, is better positioned to secure private fundraising, long-term partnerships and land‑lease development that could generate new revenue to stabilize the site and broaden educational opportunities for local students.

Gordon Jones, president of the College of Western Idaho, told the council the college would preserve community programming and “is committed to preserving beloved community events, such as the Snake River Stampede, horse park activities, and other events such as local high school graduations and other activities.” Nick Miller, CWI’s vice president for strategy and…