EDT: Fargodome Expansion Vote vs Old Man Yells at Cloud (12-5-23)

[heckler]

I did read that Fargo/DOME people will send out a survey to find out what specific things Fargoans would be interested in having on the ballot. (I am sure there will be some smart-ass replies to that from the NO group such as "Nothing.") But I do appreciate Fargo/DOME doing that. I am not sure how extensive the survey will be and how many Fargoans they will contact (will it be all Fargoans or just a selected bunch?} In any case, it will probably be computerized and summarized.

Being a person who loves to write letters, I am in the process of writing one to Rob S., DOME Authority, and Doug R. and Deb M. Just really letting them know a) how much I appreciated all their work but b) most importantly, some ideas and feedback of my own. One of the most important ones is to target project information and verbiage to the "average" Fargoan, many of whom do not understand in depth how the FARGODOME works and so forth. Not in a negative, elitist way, but the DOME/City of Fargo has a complex financial and government arrangement between Fargo and NDSU. As you know and everyone else knows firsthand, all the on-line comments and even "exit" interviews showed a LOT of simplistic and erroneous views of the whole project.

Other things are trying to contact targeted demographics such as NDSU students, alumni etc. to GET OUT THE VOTE. Not tell them HOW to vote obviously but GET OUT THE VOTE. Since City of Fargo was allowed to stick a GET OUT THE VOTE sheet in our water bill, why can't NDSU and Alumni Association do the same via email to Fargo NDSU alumni in a neutral way??? Obviously, the DOME people know their stuff and know the legalities of a lot of this stuff but I really hope they look at the whole project from the eyes of the receiving end (the voters) and find ways to LET THE FARGOANS know in NO UNCERTAIN terms how this will directly benefit them. DOME people did that to a degree but if they separate out the convention center, it will be an easier time to work with all the moving parts in this.

You have excellent ideas, HerdBot.

I would have voted yes on the fargodome only portion.

[AlumniGreen]

Maybe a MONSTER TRUCK track???

It is a "hard YES" for me if a Monster Truck track is on the vote!

[BISONBRI53]

It is a "hard YES" for me if a Monster Truck track is on the vote!

Your Sig line is AWESOME!!!! Is that to keep Lakes off your back?

[AlumniGreen]

Your Sig line is AWESOME!!!! Is that to keep Lakes off your back?

Back, front, whatever. LOL.

[23Bison]

Back, front, whatever. LOL.

Checkmate!!! That is funny stuff!!

[AKBison]

I would have voted yes on the fargodome only portion.

The sense I get from here and talking to others is that a Fargodome specific expansion would have passed. I also think it make sense for NDSU to have some skin in the game. Maybe have NDSU be responsible for raising the money for the suites and premium seating. At least that way we would own them and more importantly be able collect 100% of the revenue off them. The problem is that for the dollars involved, there needs to be more than 1200 premium seats. If they can find a way to get suites up to 2000+ and total capacity to 22k plus I think it's a winner fo Fargo while also setting NDSU up better for an FBS transition.

If NDSU raised 50 million and Fargo raised 100 million via a hotel tax it will pass.

[AlumniGreen]

The sense I get from here and talking to others is that a Fargodome specific expansion would have passed. I also think it make sense for NDSU to have some skin in the game. Maybe have NDSU be responsible for raising the money for the suites and premium seating. At least that way we would own them and more importantly be able collect 100% of the revenue off them. The problem is that for the dollars involved, there needs to be more than 1200 premium seats. If they can find a way to get suites up to 2000+ and total capacity to 22k plus I think it's a winner fo Fargo while also setting NDSU up better for an FBS transition.

If NDSU raised 50 million and Fargo raised 100 million via a hotel tax it will pass.

I hope the decision makers and others at DOME/NDSU/City of Fargo are reading Bisonville. I like this and other ideas being bandied about. Or, on the other hand, posters could let the DOME people know of ideas, too.

I don't think ANYONE is even thinking anymore of combining a convention/event center with a FARGODOME face-lift/makeover/renovation. That was a mistake but sometimes the mistake is more obvious in the rear-view mirror. FARGODOME/NDSU/City of Fargo people will have months now to come up with a better plan and a more realistic one that may be more palatable to all.

[CoachFSCB]

Every single person I talked to about the vote said the same thing - they all were for the upgrading of the Fargodome itself, but having a convention center tagged onto it killed it - they all voted “no”. The convention center addition bloated the price tag more than they were willing to stomach. Upgrade the dome and forget about a convention center, or come up with money for a convention center on its own and build it someplace else. Combining these two into one humongous project spoiled the whole batch.

[KSBisonFan]

https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/...me-vote-fails/

They might put it back on the ballot and separate the 2. Possibly in June

But I suggest if they do it, take a survey and find out wifi needs to be in stone.

Make the conference center multi use and call it an EVENTS and conference center. Outside of the FM Chamber, nobody is pumped up to see a chiroptacto or accounting conference. It's boring and uninspiring. But if it can attract fun events, it might generate some excitement.. Add an upper or lower level. Better yet, get a public amenity thrown in like a skateboarding park, community center with indoor hardwood courts. How about an indoor ice skating rink? Just brainstorming so don't laugh at my ideas.

Maybe throw in half a pickleball court to get the "no" crowd to overlook the giant tax increase. Maybe joking a little, but not really.

*There is a shortage of courts where I live and the mention of more courts perks people's interest.

[Grizzled]

Every single person I talked to about the vote said the same thing - they all were for the upgrading of the Fargodome itself, but having a convention center tagged onto it killed it - they all voted “no”. The convention center addition bloated the price tag more than they were willing to stomach. Upgrade the dome and forget about a convention center, or come up with money for a convention center on its own and build it someplace else. Combining these two into one humongous project spoiled the whole batch.

If the Fargodome spent their reserves to do the required updates and then they put upgrades to vote it would have a chance to pass.

What the mayor and others are not understanding is people are tired of being taxed for everything at every vote. If he thinks the economy will be in a better spot come June he is more out of touch than I thought.