I have the honor to be Your Obedient Servant - B.Aud
We all live in stories... It seems to me that a definition of any living vibrant society is that you constantly question those stories... The argument itself is freedom. It's not that you come to a conclusion about it. Through that argument you change your mind sometimes... That's how societies grow. When you can't retell for yourself the stories of your life then you live in a prison... Somebody else controls the story. - S. Rushdie
I'm just surprised nothing has been done with the area behind the mall to this point...by now, I would have had a hotel with a huge water park connected to the mall and possibly tried to get Target as well, that place is crazy busy whenever I'm there.
I personally don't care where the convention center goes just don't take away the tailgating area...please.
I'm out of date and in reality don't GAF, but this convention center is going to be how big? What outside of "conventions" will it be used for?
And isn't WF trying to build a convention center alsof? How many do we need
NDSU Athletics: oderint dum metuant
I'm sure there would be a parking ramp associated with a convention center downtown. The problem though with downtown is where do you put it. The only space available that has been discussed is the bus station which doesn't seem feasible financially. You'd have to build a whole new bus station somewhwre else. The mid American steel site has already been ruled out too. West of downtown requires buying out residences and then we'll hear the lefty cries of gentrification and not caring about the lower class. I'd love to have it downtown, just where to put it is the question. The area by new city Hall has been set aside for a civic plaza that will never get used, so have to rule that out too.
The Forum actually wrote a good opinion piece on this today. I actually agree with them. Especially the part where they say the space outside the dome is "uninhabitable for pedestrians" which is totally true. Outside of Bdubs, McDonald's, and Taco Bell it isn't very impressive and it's not like there is room to build new stuff since its surrounded by an airport and NDSU.
Another point they could have hit on is people spending money downtown keeps it more local. Spots like 13th Ave or even in southwest Fargo are dominated by chains who suck the money to other states and typically only bring low paying jobs to town. A majority of downtown businesses are North Dakota owned which I'm a huge supporter of.
http://www.inforum.com/opinion/edito...longs-downtown
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I suspect that the city would like to move the bus depot out of downtown, or at least out of the center of downtown. That might be one of the reasons for the proposed location. It might have made sense at one time when most of the MAT bus routes were clustered downtown and the Greyhound service was run out of the main building, but it really doesn't make sense anymore for all the buses to have to fight in and out of the center of downtown every day.
Personally, I'd like to see them look at tearing down the Civic and building there if there's enough room. Maybe include the PD building location as a parking ramp or other part of the complex. That location is a little more centered in regards to hotels, bars and restaurants. I just question if the Civic is really needed in Fargo anymore. I think Fargo has grown to the point where that size of facility can be built and operated privately.
I know Fargo isn't ready for it with the other expensive needs(flood protection, water supply, other infrastructure, convention center, etc.), but a 5000-seat performing arts center with support facilities is something the city should have at some point. Between that, the Fargodome, Bluestem, Scheels Arena, and smaller private venues, I don't think there's anything the Civic handles that the rest wouldn't.
Not all convention centers are created equal. The location of the proposed WF convention center sucks. They're looking to put it on the west side of Bonanzaville, in between it and the RRV Fairgrounds. It would make the services around the Fargodome look like downtown Manhattan in comparison. And it isn't nearly big enough for the needs of the full FM area. They are looking at 3 rooms that can handle 500 people and a main hall that can handle 3000. In comparison, Sioux Falls(same size metro as FM) has a convention center with a pair of large rooms that can combine for about 5000 and another 13 smaller rooms that can be combined into different configurations.
True the bus station does not need to be downtown
The Civic should stay as its a great venue for medium sized concerts and has the best acoustics in town. Bluestem is seasonal and competes with Fargo. The dome is way to big for bands that draw 2-3k, the Scheels arena is garbage and sounds horrible with a metal roof. The Hub no longer exists and The Sanctuary holds like 500 and the Fargo Theatre slightly more but you have to sit which is annoying. I am a huge fan of the Civic Center. I think Fargo has a need for it. Good size up to 3k. Awesome sound. You can have general admission of seats which is unique. I think it needs some TLC
And your right on a 5k seat capacity which Scheels could do.
What about the SHAC? The BSA had concerts back in the day
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You're forgetting the fact that building proposed downtown does not result in a solution to the current problem. ..... having a Convention Center that can both host exhibitors and provide the the breakout space for speakers Etc.
Building a new facility downtown simply creates two useless Convention centers the dome and the one downtown. Again, Fargo needs a place that has an exhibit floor i.e., the Dome and then has room to host speaker sessions ie the proposed new building. Essentially what the downtown option does is splits up what is needed by putting the classrooms/speaker downtown versus building on at the Dome where a great exibit hall already exsist.
People keep talking about the restaurants and what not.... no one new is going to come to either space if they dont fulfill the needs of the organization.
In the past we had enough little venues that people could pick and choose according to what actually fit their needs and that has Worked reasonably well.... that is ever since we got enough hotels to accommodate ........that used to be a huge problem in Fargo.
Now the problem is that Fargo is outgrowing these current venues as we are starting to attract larger organizations that need/want more amenities..... more exhibit space, areas 4 speakers / classes and Catering. Again adding the latter two to the Fargodome creates this type of space creating a new space downtown does not.
As a person who sat on a board for an international organization that determine where their conference is held, i can tell you split venues like the one that we will essentially create if we build dt is a huge turnoff.
Thus, if this is built downtown the city is no further ahead than it was before we started. The only difference is the folks that currently hold conferences down town and would hold their conference downtown anyways get a nice cushy space to conference at....of course at the expense of the Fargodome Surplus
Now.....there is another Conference Center being proposed in West Fargo out at the fairgrounds that may alleviate this whole situation..... provide room for exhibitors as well as provide conference rooms etc. And it has all sorts of space for restaurants and hotels to be built up around it....... seems to me if we were thinking folks maybe we would pull all our money into that
Last edited by MAKBison; 06-04-2017 at 07:13 PM.
I don't think the city is targeting many events that would use the dome and need tons of breakout space. I think it's targeting smaller to medium sized ones. The dome is way too big for most of these but whether or not they build downtown or in south Fargo, the dome needs some upgrades that will provide additional space and amenities. That could mean a small addition to the south or the west or heck.. Why not partner with the SHAC and connect the buildings with a skyway?
Either way this is an interesting discussion and everyone has good points
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17X National Champions: 65, 68, 69, 83, 85, 86, 88, 90, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21
Join the Green and the Gold Collective to take Bison football to the next level. Starts at $10 a month
The Green and The Gold Collective is excited to announce our #DriveToFive membership campaign. The goal of this campaign is to get to 500 monthly members. Reaching this goal will help us provide financial support to NDSU student athletes, including every returning member of the football team that saw action on the field last year!
https://thegreenandthegold.com