Boise State Bookstore Announces Plans to Open Bronco Shop in Downtown Boise's BoDo District

The Boise State University Bookstore announced plans today to open a Bronco Shop in BoDo, the retail/entertainment/office urban redevelopment district that opened in Boise’s historic Eighth Street Marketplace last fall.

The Boise State Bookstore plans to lease space in a 1,300-square-foot retail shop next to the Edwards Theatre lobby on Broad Street. According to Kim Thomas, Bookstore director, the university hopes to open the store in December.

Thomas said the university’s expansion to its first off-campus retail outlet is due to the continued popularity of Bronco merchandise. Currently, Bronco insignia merchandise such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, other articles of clothing and sports-related items are sold in the Bronco Shop in the Student Union on Boise State’s main campus and at the bookstores at Boise State West and the Canyon County Center.

Sales of Bronco clothing and other merchandise continue to be strong, said Thomas, who noted that for the second straight year Boise State is listed among the top 50 schools in royalties among schools represented by the Collegiate Licensing Company.

According to Thomas, the new store has the potential to add to the significant revenue the Bookstore has generated during the past two fiscal years. During those two years, the Bookstore was able to return approximately $2 million in the form of scholarships and support for the university operating budget. The revenue generated from the Bookstore’s operations helped support donations to the Boise State Foundation’s academic scholarship endowment, institutional research salaries, the university’s graduate assistantship program, and Graduate Residential Scholars Program. Other funding went to operating support, merchandise donations and royalties the Bookstore pays the university.

"We are very interested in making the ability to shop and support the university as easy as possible for customers at a store where 100 percent of the profits are returned to the institution and help drive the continued success of the university," Thomas said.

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Contact: Kim Thomas, Bookstore (208) 426-3048, kthomas@boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Bob Evancho, University Communications, (208) 426-1643, bevanch@boisestate.edu