That guy NAILED it in his letter. I would have voted yes strictly out of fear that they will never improved the dome if it’s voted down, but I was personally uninspired with their showing. The conference center put me to sleep. 40 million so people could have lunch in a big room??? That’s the only thing the picture showed. 400 business people quietly having coffee and bagels. WOW! SO INSPIRING!!
I like what they did with the dome, but if this is the improvements that will make it last another 30 years?? You gotta come up with something better than more bathrooms, new press box, and 6-7 more suites. Dream big, inspire us! Yes those things are objectively great, but absolutely no one is jumping out of bed to vote so Dom Izzo can get a new elevator and bathroom.
The Dakota dome renovation was a wow factor IMO. Every single aspect was an improvement. This? The pics shown depict almost no differences inside the stadium, which is the money shot of any sports arena. Bret Mussberger doesn’t say “you are looking LIVE at the mega dome!!” and then show pics of the women’s bathroom and press box. They show the inside of the fricken stadium. Uninspiring. Dream big and do it right. They had architectural drawings of a “sky deck” 2-3 years ago. Adds about 1k and it’s fricken COOL. People might get out of bed for that one
The DOME committee, staff, City of Fargo and Reimagined committee have quite a while to fine tune their messaging as well as decide either Convention Center or FARGODOME to be on the ballot. They CANNOT have both on future votes, too much confusion, public's lack of knowledge about the complex relationship between the DOME and a proposed convention center. There are a LOT of people in Fargo who may not understand the whole project, who shut down at the word "tax" even if it is only .25%, and who, when they voted, perhaps sent a giant F-U to the City of Fargo. Anecdotally, many who voted NO did not want a convention center or wanted one elsewhere and not on NDSU campus. And so threw the baby out with the bath water on the vote.
City of Fargo staff/DOME staff etc have to get it right the next vote. I LOVED Paul Gleye's letter to the editor. I would like a gorgeous convention center and beautiful renovations to the DOME. I am not afraid of a .25% sales tax. The Fargo Forum Editorial Board even published an opinion piece that said most people would not even notice such a small sales tax increase.
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Yea, I think there were a lot of major missteps along the way. Dot your I's and cross your T's. Old-school communication.
Get a Campaign Manager with a proven track record. One who leaves no stone unturned. Get a big old-timey paper chart and have everyone's duties out there and the Campaign Manager makes sure everything is done, checks them off, and contacts NDSU/Alumni Association and so forth about if they can try to get out the vote there (students will be gone for the most part in June).
Lots of dropping the ball and from my vantage point, the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing always.
Having a June vote with JUST the FARGODOME renovation on the ballot would make a world of difference, however, and be easier to understand for citizens.
Get a "focus group" early on with average citizens to see if the plan, verbiage and all that stuff makes sense. But MAKE IT ABOUT THE VOTERS. The DOME people are so darn smart and they know the project, the process and everything about it inside and out but they have to realize that there are a lot of people who don't know as much as they do about it (99% of the population). Prepare a "Cliff Notes" sheet with clear-cut Q&A for the average person and have them placed into the water bill to save postage. Prepare it on yellow paper so people don't miss it and throw it away.
Whenever I think I am not very smart, I read some of those Facebook comments and feel reassured I am okay.
Not a resident of Fargo so I can’t vote but, I support the idea but I feel it should be two different projects. This one felt like a convention center project with some fluff for the Fargo Dome added to garner some extra votes. Not enough improvement to the Dome itself. You can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig. Convention center needs to be in a different part of town IMHO. I know that subject has been beat to death here and I don’t have the answer as to where it should be. Any improvement to the dome needs to involve everything that’s been mentioned here on BV (better/more restrooms, improved concessions, ect.) but it has to include more seating. I have to believe, eventually, we’ll be FBS when the dust settles.
Facebook is a great place to validate yourself, Alumni. Even a dummy like me feels smarter after looking at some things posted on FB.
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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