Fargo approves December 5th special election for Fargodome expansion, remodel

[BigHorns]

imo... the main issue is having more capacity... but also adding the things that you wrote about. Shutting down is not an option either. So the solution is...

Arguably, right now its not.

Ideal capacity is about 100-1000 seats below demand. Make every ticket in high demand.
The trend in college football is to build slightly smaller but nicer stadiums with lots of amenities that can support premium pricing.

If we ever want a 35-40k stadium, that will likely need to be an outdoor stadium to be economically feasible.
You would ideally start with something smaller that can be expanded in phases.

I really like Montana's stadium, it has a big time feel, and seats about 25k. Something similar that could be expanded to 40k+ would be sweet.

[North Side]

I think the upgrade would pay for itself and makes both quality of life and economic sense, but I also know most people in North Dakota lean conservative and don't like taxes and government spending. If this does pass it will barely pass.

[CaBisonFan]

Arguably, right now its not.

Ideal capacity is about 100-1000 seats below demand. Make every ticket in high demand.
The trend in college football is to build slightly smaller but nicer stadiums with lots of amenities that can support premium pricing.

If we ever want a 35-40k stadium, that will likely need to be an outdoor stadium to be economically feasible.
You would ideally start with something smaller that can be expanded in phases.

I really like Montana's stadium, it has a big time feel, and seats about 25k. Something similar that could be expanded to 40k+ would be sweet.

We lived in Montana for a while and attended some Griz games. It's the best stadium in the FCS. Classic design. I disagree with putting a lot of money into the Fargodome. It doesn't address the fundamental issue.

[BigHorns]

We lived in Montana for a while and attended some Griz games. It's the best stadium in the FCS. Classic design. I disagree with putting a lot of money into the Fargodome. It doesn't address the fundamental issue.

3 counterpoints.

1) Capacity isn't an issue at the moment, filling the Fargodome every game is. We lack basic amenities like enough bathrooms and concessions space, which makes it less attractive to attend games and other events.

2) This is Fargo's money, not NDSUs being spent. We're effectively getting these upgrades for free. A proposal to spend that same money on a new outdoor stadium would be a non-starter. If we want an outdoor stadium, NDSU will have to raise those funds. That can still happen.

3) The benefits to Fargo far outweigh a mere capacity upgrade for football. This will help the city in many ways outside of football, bringing in new events and activities, while also boosting the local economy. Half of this is building a new convention center, something the city needs that just doesn't exist today.

It's quite telling that a lot of people opposed to this live far away from Fargo.

[moosbah]

From a nostalgic view, I would love an outdoor stadium, but is it really even an option anymore? I'd love to return to the days of having great outdoor football like at Dacotah Field (I have stadium envy when I watch the cold weather games in Laramie, Colorado Springs, Missoula and Bozeman are on TV), but I'm not sure the younger fan base would have any interest in sitting outside on a cold Fargo day any more.

[HerdBot]

We lived in Montana for a while and attended some Griz games. It's the best stadium in the FCS. Classic design. I disagree with putting a lot of money into the Fargodome. It doesn't address the fundamental issue.

It's really not a lot of money by modern standards. 140 million - 30 for the surplus, which exists only to upgrade the dome. That's 110 million. About half is the lodging tax, which is for the convention center. So 55 million for the dome. The lodging tax is prohibited by state law for basic upgrades, so it has to go to a new building. The convention center ties into thr dome to give it benefits and shares amenities and staffing

[AlumniGreen]

It's really not a lot of money by modern standards. 140 million - 30 for the surplus, which exists only to upgrade the dome. That's 110 million. About half is the lodging tax, which is for the convention center. So 55 million for the dome. The lodging tax is prohibited by state law for basic upgrades, so it has to go to a new building. The convention center ties into thr dome to give it benefits and shares amenities and staffing

In talking to my "random" friends, it is obvious there are a lot of misconceptions about the FARGODOME upgrade. #1 being NDSU football is the main (and only reason for the upgrade. I wonder if a lot of people even know the "history" of the FARGODOME, who "owns" the building and who owns the land on which it sits.

Thanksgiving is coming quickly and then after that - it is crunch time and we will be staring down December 5th.

[BISONBRI53]

My understanding is Teamakers can campaign for the YES vote, then they should send out a mass mailing to all Teamakers with explicit reasons why they should vote "yes." Since you, El Chapo, are so well-connected, why don't you ask them to do that? And since you are so articulate, write a letter to the editor?

dEaR EdItOr. My NaMe iS LaKes. PumP iT uP!!!

[Bisonator98]

From a nostalgic view, I would love an outdoor stadium, but is it really even an option anymore? I'd love to return to the days of having great outdoor football like at Dacotah Field (I have stadium envy when I watch the cold weather games in Laramie, Colorado Springs, Missoula and Bozeman are on TV), but I'm not sure the younger fan base would have any interest in sitting outside on a cold Fargo day any more.

It wouldn't really be that cold though, if we're FBS our last home game would be mid-late November, we aren't talking about December games like FCS playoffs or D2 games. Yeah there may be some cold games in Oct or Nov but it'd be rare IMO. Plus stadium design could mitigate some of the weather issues with overhangs, heaters, etc. I'd like to see NDSU have an outdoor stadium again, something that's expandable would be a must. Start with a 20,000-25,000 design with expandability to 40,000.

[AKBison]

The more I read articles and posts SUCH AS THIS, the more I wonder if there is ANY ECONOMIC reason to vote "no."

I'm against the proposal because I don't want a convention center on campus. With that said and economically speaking, voting no because it's bad for Fargo is asinine.