Dome Upgrades

[SDbison]

Someone didn't think this video board thing through. Going to be covered up with national championship banners within ten years.

First thing I thought is will there be room for the expanded size banners?

[SDbison]

So when are they going to approve the 20 million to add the new entrance and suites to the west side along with more bathrooms and concession areas when the old suites are taken out. Apparently this will add 1500 to 2000 seats. Would be nice to get this going soon since if approved today it would take 3 years to plan and build.

[HerdBot]

So when are they going to approve the 20 million to add the new entrance and suites to the west side along with more bathrooms and concession areas when the old suites are taken out. Apparently this will add 1500 to 2000 seats. Would be nice to get this going soon since if approved today it would take 3 years to plan and build.

That would be awesome. Would put capacity close to 20k, add premium seats and more teammakers revenue, add space for trade shows, weddings, etc. That would make the dome more competitive with the tin shed up north. Would add much needed double doors when it's 20 below zero and BATHROOMS! Would allow for an outdoor heated area. Plus it would make a fairly ugly side of the building look big time.

[SDbison]

That would be awesome. Would put capacity close to 20k, add premium seats and more teammakers revenue, add space for trade shows, weddings, etc. That would make the dome more competitive with the tin shed up north. Would add much needed double doors when it's 20 below zero and BATHROOMS! Would allow for an outdoor heated area. Plus it would make a fairly ugly side of the building look big time.

Any proposed floor plans for this? What is the status of making this happen? I know there were some cheaper versions, but this has much more appeal.

[MAKBison]

So when are they going to approve the 20 million to add the new entrance and suites to the west side along with more bathrooms and concession areas when the old suites are taken out. Apparently this will add 1500 to 2000 seats. Would be nice to get this going soon since if approved today it would take 3 years to plan and build.

I thought DB killed that with his wanting a separate CC down town.

[HerdBot]

I thought DB killed that with his wanting a separate CC down town.

No that's for thr convention center. (Either added to the dome or a separate facility) This is for an upgrade which is separate. The city commission still hasn't decided on where the convention center would be or funding. Burgum didn't kill it. He just proposed a new idea which I am not totally opposed to (need more details), as long as the dome gets needed upgrades like the one I pictured above.

[Dubbsy]

Will there be a huge banner dropping to unveil the new video screens to the people at the game !!!!!!!!

As the guy that would probably be stuck rigging that up, hell no...

[Hammersmith]

Any proposed floor plans for this? What is the status of making this happen? I know there were some cheaper versions, but this has much more appeal.

I think that plan was for the same purpose as the infamous retractable roof stadium for UND. Purely to improve a negotiating position. In UND's case, they were getting set to negotiate a new 10-year lease with the city for the Alerus. The new stadium plans were a way to tell the city that they had other options if they didn't get good lease terms. In the case of these FD expansion plans, they were a way to tell the city council/downtown convention center proponents that the FD surplus fund was not for their use. If they tried to go after it to help fund the CC, then the FD Authority would spend it before they could get their hands on it.

[Hammersmith]

I'm a tiny bit worried about the artist rendering in the Forum article. The artist might have been a bit lazy, or it could be showing a 70'x30' video board built into a 100'x30' housing which includes an old-style scoreboard and fixed advertising. I hope it's just that the artist copy/pasted how a stats display could be displayed by a video board.

[DIBISON]

No that's for thr convention center. (Either added to the dome or a separate facility) This is for an upgrade which is separate. The city commission still hasn't decided on where the convention center would be or funding. Burgum didn't kill it. He just proposed a new idea which I am not totally opposed to (need more details), as long as the dome gets needed upgrades like the one I pictured above.

Burgum didn't kill this upgrade directly but there are some city officials and others like Burgum that believe some of the FD reserve could help fund a downtown project. I believe the FD expansion will not proceed until there is a more clear direction on a downtown project. I believe that we need to keep reminding our city officials that the FD reserve should ONLY be used for the FD and that the west side expansion should be pursued sooner, rather than later.