If you’ve spent any time driving through Pocatello, you’ve seen it. That massive, 40,000-square-foot structure sitting right off Hillside Avenue. It’s the Mountain View Event Center, or "MEC" if you’re a local. Honestly, it’s one of those places that people sort of take for granted until they actually need to host a volleyball tournament for five hundred kids or a gun show that draws half the county.
It’s big. Like, really big.
When people talk about the Mountain View Event Center in Pocatello, Idaho, they usually focus on the sports. That makes sense. The place was basically built to handle the chaos of youth athletics. With three full-sized high school basketball courts that can magically (well, with a lot of manual labor) transition into six volleyball courts, it’s a logistical beast. But if you think it’s just a gym, you’re missing the point of why this place actually matters to the Portneuf Valley. It’s a multi-tool. It's the Swiss Army knife of Southeast Idaho real estate.
What’s Actually Inside the MEC?
Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way first. You’ve got a 28,000-square-foot main arena. To put that in perspective, you could probably fit a small village in there, or at least a very aggressive trade show. The flooring is synthetic, which purists might grumble about, but it’s what allows the building to pivot from a wrestling meet on Saturday to a corporate banquet on Monday without the janitorial staff having a collective breakdown.
Aside from the main floor, there’s a boardroom for those "serious" meetings and a concessions area that has fueled a thousand weekend warriors with lukewarm nachos and Gatorade. It’s managed by the Pocatello-Chubbuck Auditorium District, which is a fancy way of saying it’s a public-facing entity designed to bring "heads to beds"—getting people to visit Pocatello and stay in the hotels.
They aren't just winging it either. The district is governed by a board of directors—people like Dave McCurdy and James Devane—who have to balance the books while keeping the community happy. It’s a tough gig. You’ve got to keep the lights on while making sure the local pickleball crew has somewhere to play when the Idaho wind starts hitting 40 miles per hour.
The Economy of Bounce
Why does a city of 57,000 people need a massive event center?
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Money. Plain and simple.
When a regional volleyball tournament rolls into town, those families aren't just sitting in the bleachers at the Mountain View Event Center. They’re eating at Elmer’s, they’re buying gas at Maverik, and they’re crashing at the Fairfield Inn. It’s a massive economic driver. We’re talking about millions of dollars in "economic impact" over the course of a year. Without the MEC, Pocatello loses those regional draws to Idaho Falls or Salt Lake City.
But it’s not all about the bottom line. It’s about the fact that Idaho winters are long. Brutal, really. If you have kids, you know the feeling of them vibrating with stored-up energy by mid-January. The MEC provides a release valve. It’s where the community goes when the parks are under two feet of snow and the air feels like liquid nitrogen.
Not Just Hoops and Spikes
While sports are the bread and butter, the versatility of the space is where things get weird—in a good way. I’ve seen everything from high-end dog shows where the poodles have better haircuts than I do, to massive RV sales where they somehow squeeze 40-foot motorhomes through the bay doors.
- Home and Garden Shows: This is where everyone in town goes to look at hot tubs they can’t afford.
- Trade Expos: Think specialized industry stuff, like the Eastern Idaho Ag Expo.
- Graduations: When the local high schools outgrow their own gyms, they head here.
- Concerts: It’s not the Idaho Center in Nampa, but it holds its own for mid-sized acts that need more room than a bar but can’t fill a stadium.
The sheer volume of the ceiling is a factor too. You can do things here you can’t do in a ballroom. You want to fly drones? You can do that. You want to set up massive inflatable obstacle courses? Done.
The Reality of Booking and Logistics
If you’re actually looking to host something at the Mountain View Event Center in Pocatello, Idaho, you need to understand the "Auditorium District" tax. Basically, a small percentage of hotel stays in the area goes toward funding this place. Because it’s publicly supported, the rates are usually more "reasonable" than a private convention center in a major metro area, but the calendar fills up fast.
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People think they can just call up and book a Saturday in June two weeks in advance.
Nope.
The big tournaments—the ones that bring in teams from Montana, Wyoming, and Utah—book out a year or more in advance. If you’re planning a wedding or a corporate retreat, you’re competing with the "Mountain View Volleyball Classic" or whatever the latest regional bracket is called.
One thing people often overlook is the parking. The MEC has a decent lot, but when there’s a massive event, things get tight. You’ll see cars lined up along the side streets, and the local police are pretty chill about it as long as you aren't blocking a fire hydrant. It’s a "small town" problem that reminds you you’re still in Idaho, despite the high-tech flooring inside.
Acknowledging the Competition
Look, the MEC isn't the only game in town. You’ve got Holt Arena over at Idaho State University. Holt is iconic. It’s the "Kibbie Dome’s older brother." But Holt is too big for a lot of things. It’s expensive to heat, expensive to rent, and frankly, a bit overkill for a regional wrestling tournament.
Then you’ve got the Red Lion or the Shoshone-Bannock Casino Hotel in Fort Hall. Those are great for "suit and tie" events or conventions that need lots of breakout rooms. But you aren't going to have 100 kids running around playing basketball in a hotel ballroom. The MEC fills that middle ground—the "industrial strength" event space that can take a beating and still look good for a photo op.
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The "Local" Factor
There’s a specific vibe to the Mountain View Event Center that you won't find at a corporate venue in Boise. It’s the smell of popcorn and floor wax. It’s the sound of a hundred whistles blowing at once during a Saturday morning tournament. It’s the sight of local business owners setting up booths at the Home Show, shaking hands with people they’ve known for twenty years.
It feels like Pocatello. It’s functional, unpretentious, and built to handle whatever the high desert throws at it.
Is it perfect? No. The acoustics in a giant metal box are always going to be a bit "echo-y," regardless of how much sound-dampening material you hang from the rafters. And yeah, the synthetic floor isn't as "prestigious" as polished maple for some basketball purists. But for the 99% of people who use the facility, it’s exactly what it needs to be.
How to Actually Use the Space
If you’re a business owner or an organizer, don't just look at the floor plan. Talk to the staff. The folks running the MEC have seen it all. They know how to layout a floor to maximize flow, and they know where the "dead zones" are for Wi-Fi.
- Check the Calendar Early: Like, yesterday. If you want a weekend, you need to be thinking 12-18 months out.
- Think About Load-In: They have large bay doors. This is a massive advantage if you’re bringing in heavy equipment or large displays. Use them.
- Consider the "Shoulder" Dates: If you can host your event on a Tuesday or Wednesday, you’ll have a much easier time and might even find some wiggle room on pricing.
- Partner with Local Hotels: Since the Auditorium District is funded by the lodging tax, there’s a vested interest in you bringing in out-of-towners. Use that leverage.
Final Actionable Steps
Stop thinking of the Mountain View Event Center as just a place for sports. If you’re planning anything that requires more than 5,000 square feet, this should be on your shortlist.
- Visit the official website (look for the Pocatello-Chubbuck Auditorium District site) to see the current rate sheets. They are surprisingly transparent about costs.
- Go to an event first. Don't book it sight unseen. Show up during a busy Saturday tournament to see how the building handles a crowd. Watch the traffic flow. Check the restrooms. See how the concessions operate.
- Verify your insurance requirements. Because it’s a public facility, they have specific liability needs that you’ll want your insurance agent to look at before you sign a contract.
The MEC is a workhorse. It’s not the fanciest building in the world, but in a place like Pocatello, we value things that work. And this place works hard. Whether you’re cheering on a middle schooler or scouting for a new tractor, the Mountain View Event Center remains the undisputed center of gravity for events in Southeast Idaho.
Practical Resource Checklist for Planners:
- Main Arena Size: 28,000 sq. ft.
- Total Facility: 40,000 sq. ft.
- Capabilities: 3 Basketball Courts / 6 Volleyball Courts.
- Amenities: Boardroom, Concessions, Official Wi-Fi, Loading Docks.
- Governance: Pocatello-Chubbuck Auditorium District.
If you’re ready to book, reach out to their event coordinator directly rather than just sending a generic email. A phone call still goes a long way in Idaho. Ask for a walkthrough on a Tuesday morning when the building is quiet—you’ll get a much better sense of the scale when the echoes are the only thing you hear.