Dome Upgrades

[1998braves64]

I don't think that's necessarily true. Besides we have over 40 million in the surplus fund right now. They could pay for the fanciest addition and barely use half of it without spending a penny of tax payer dollars. I would like to see something that has a bit more space though.

Reality is we need to do something so we can remain competitive with other facilities. This would help but we need more bang for thr buck

I could see then do something different... maybr like the 13.4 million dollar add on plus a smaller arena on the south end and incorporate a roof top into that. Maybe not as fancy.

Yes but some of that money will be needed for maintenance of the building which is only going to get more expensive as the years go on like any older building. Which is why I think it's more of a future thing. After the video boards seems there are probably several other things that need updating. I'm assuming video boards are coming partially out of the ~$40 million. Unless they somehow got all that in the standard budget for this year? Not saying it's never going to happen. Just not as soon as we all would like it to happen. Unless the convention center thing rears it's ugly head again.

[56BISON73]

21 million to add 800-1200 seats? Yeah yeah yeah I get it on the other additions. But 800-1200 seats?

[HerdBot]

Yes but some of that money will be needed for maintenance of the building which is only going to get more expensive as the years go on like any older building. Which is why I think it's more of a future thing. After the video boards seems there are probably several other things that need updating. I'm assuming video boards are coming partially out of the ~$40 million. Unless they somehow got all that in the standard budget for this year? Not saying it's never going to happen. Just not as soon as we all would like it to happen. Unless the convention center thing rears it's ugly head again.

I remember reading somewhere they could use half of the surplus Plus the dome actually operates in the black pretty much every year in its existence. Curious where the profits go.

I totally agree on the convention center. I don't think we need a convention center at all. What we need is a remodeled civic center (which is an awesome facility) and add ons to the dome like they have pictured. If they really need convention space, attach a fancy steel building to the civic center and we could have one for 5-10 million the size of the indoor track facility. Of course the downtown snobs would never allow a steel building downtown even though they can look pretty awesome if done with some creativity. Instead they want to overspend.

[1998braves64]

I remember reading somewhere they could use half of the surplus Plus the dome actually operates in the black pretty much every year in its existence. Curious where the profits go.

I totally agree on the convention center. I don't think we need a convention center at all. What we need is a remodeled civic center (which is an awesome facility) and add ons to the dome like they have pictured. If they really need convention space, attach a fancy steel building to the civic center and we could have one for 5-10 million the size of the indoor track facility. Of course the downtown snobs would never allow a steel building downtown even though they can look pretty awesome if done with some creativity. Instead they want to overspend.

The fund is for capital "improvements" but that also encircles maintenance. It is in investment so it is subject to stock market swings. As building gets older they're going to have to spend more. Also they plan to use the funds for any shortfalls they may encounter in the future. The profits from every year are put into this fund. Don't believe they've had a red year yet closest they came was 2010 or 11. Coincidentally the years were first couple of years NDSU had playoff games and from what I remember if not for the playoffs it would have put them in the red that year just barely but got the unplanned event that bumped them into the black.

Would be careful on spending half of the fund. You never know what will come down the road. Just not sure that it's worth it to add that few of seats. Would open up opportunities though in things other than football.

[tjbison]

The fund is for capital "improvements" but that also encircles maintenance. It is in investment so it is subject to stock market swings. As building gets older they're going to have to spend more. Also they plan to use the funds for any shortfalls they may encounter in the future. The profits from every year are put into this fund. Don't believe they've had a red year yet closest they came was 2010 or 11. Coincidentally the years were first couple of years NDSU had playoff games and from what I remember if not for the playoffs it would have put them in the red that year just barely but got the unplanned event that bumped them into the black.

Would be careful on spending half of the fund. You never know what will come down the road. Just not sure that it's worth it to add that few of seats. Would open up opportunities though in things other than football.

touring concerts were hard to get in 2009-2011 also seems that market has picked back up a bit which obviously 2016 is starting out to possible be a banner year for the dome with Garth, Blake Shelton, that Beiber thing, ACDC etc

[HerdBot]

touring concerts were hard to get in 2009-2011 also seems that market has picked back up a bit which obviously 2016 is starting out to possible be a banner year for the dome with Garth, Blake Shelton, that Beiber thing, ACDC etc

Good point on concerts.

The dome is having a HUGE year but if they want some more stability, they need to do some sort of small addition. Weddings, trade shows, and conventions are easy money. But it takes money to make money.

I'm also curious if we're getting so many shows because they dropped global spectrum and are keeping it local now?

[SDbison]

21 million to add 800-1200 seats? Yeah yeah yeah I get it on the other additions. But 800-1200 seats?

Much more than the 1200 seats PL. In fact if this is done it will be more about big money. The suites in the Fargodome are not private, are very outdated and lack amenities of suites in comparable venues. Moving them to the top of the dome would be a huge upgrade. Additional bathrooms and concession areas along with an outdoor balcony and heated tailgate area at ground level would add a lot to the facility. Also would be several thousand square feet of floor space between the upper and lower level of this expansion. Not sure, but I thought this plan included an upgrade to the press box on the east side.

[HerdBot]

Much more than the 1200 seats PL. In fact if this is done it will be more about big money. The suites in the Fargodome are not private, are very outdated and lack amenities of suites in comparable venues. Moving them to the top of the dome would be a huge upgrade. Additional bathrooms and concession areas along with an outdoor balcony and heated tailgate area at ground level would add a lot to the facility. Also would be several thousand square feet of floor space between the upper and lower level of this expansion. Not sure, but I thought this plan included an upgrade to the press box on the east side.

Yes. Way more than just seats.

Extra seats = more revenue. 1000 seats x $40 ticket = $40k per game × 6 games = 240k plus a minimum of a $50 teammakers donation adds another 50k to it, putting it close to 300k. That doesn't even count playoffs.

But more importantly, the suites will be big donation level numbers. They can either relocate the existing big money spots or just sell new ones. Going on the cheap end, if 500 suites open up at 1k donation, that's a half million bucks. It it'd 2k, it'd a million. I think they are way more than that too.

So this could end up being a net revenue gain of 1.5 to 5 million per year easy.

But the big benefit for the dome is they get more events due to more space and amenities. Weddings. Trade shows. More vendors for existing shows. Big money for everyone.

[56BISON73]

Much more than the 1200 seats PL. In fact if this is done it will be more about big money. The suites in the Fargodome are not private, are very outdated and lack amenities of suites in comparable venues. Moving them to the top of the dome would be a huge upgrade. Additional bathrooms and concession areas along with an outdoor balcony and heated tailgate area at ground level would add a lot to the facility. Also would be several thousand square feet of floor space between the upper and lower level of this expansion. Not sure, but I thought this plan included an upgrade to the press box on the east side.

If you look at my post I acknowledge that its more than just seats. I just dont understand with all of the past yapping about the lack of seats how 800-1200 additional seats is some how a great thing. But Im good with it.

[gumby013]

NDSU doesn't get any suite revenue from the dome.