The fact NDSU has ditched the addition to the Fargodome idea and is focusing on a total overhaul of the BSA makes sense on two fronts: it has to renovate the BSA anyway and the school will have total control of basketball operations.
A dome addition would bring into fold some city leverage for trade shows and exhibits or whatever. No big deal for games, since NDSU would probably have first dibs on that. But practice? It’s nice to have total access to your home court.
On an administrative front, this is a big deal to Gene Taylor’s reign as athletic director. It’s the project that could turn a good run so far into a very good run and if he’s ever going to move on, college presidents like to see an A.D. complete a big building project.
Asked if it’s the final piece to his NDSU puzzle, Taylor said, "It’s not the final piece, but it’s a critical one that we needed to do long ago. But we had other priorities like the transition and Division I."
It’s obvious that Sanford Health is very interested in being the leading financial partner. T Denny Sanford is worth over a billion and it’s been said he’s not afraid of being generous. The sometimes trustyworthy Wikipedia labels him a "philanthropist." Tuesday was my first direct connection to Sanford corporate and I will say I was impressed with its personable nature and quick response.
Try getting a comment from most of those corporate giants and you’re lucky to get an office assistant to reply with more than the following four words: "I’ll take your name."
I like the idea of the BSA renovation instead of getting into the FD addition.
Hopefully this works out, sounds like it is finally on the right path to completion. Sanford and NDSU would be a natural fit.
This project would be a huge boost to NDSU basketball and the community in general. The fan interest for NDSU basketball and attendance would skyrocket.
he called it on bisonville and on fox tv last friday. this will be a great facility if they do it right, luxury boxes maybe? have fun on vacation lakes
scooter = lakes. Geez, you can’t draw enough attention to yourself. Pathetic!
actually, im a poster on bisonville and everyone with a braincell knows lakes is on vacation.
Hopefully, a complete BSA renovation will address a wide range of needs for the athletic department. A Fargodome addition, while nice, would not have helped with all of the needs. A bowl-type setting would be VERY welcome for basketball, including more intimate state tournaments.
I agree with Oldguy…. oh wait! Oldguy didn’t say anything yet… damn it!
What kind of seating capacity are we talking about here with a renovated BSA? What is the ideal seating capacity?
5500 expandable to 7500.
luxury seats on north side of bsa.
surround seats, surround sound.
all thats missing is beer sales.
Would love to see this happen.
also, sanford will have a athletic rehab facility where the pool was. cant wait, shovels will be going in April.
Question: would the Fargodome pursue a new addition with an arena big enough for an NDSU DI hockey team? Or would such a team have to play in the Fargo Force arena?
Haha, thanks “Fargodom addition for hockey?”… comments can be shut down right about mmmmmmmmeow!
Sorry guys I think that the BSA renovation would be great but know way would it have the impact on recruiting and an increase in attendance that a Fargodome addition would! Not even close! Go Bison!
SDSU just finished the Dykehouse center for Football. They are planning to renovate their football stadium to a 22,700 seat facility with suites and probably field turf! The next plan is to have a new field house North of the football stadium. They already have Frost arena which is viewed by most as the finest basketball facility in the conference. If we renovate the BSA it will be great! If we put the addition on the Fargodome it will be the best facility at any FCS school. Do we want to have really good facilities or the best facilities??? I still think the Fargodome addition will be built. Just my crazy opinion. Go Bison!
I don’t know. It looks like a lot of smoke and mirrors but in the end it’s still the BSA. NDSU must have some big time donors out there who could cut the check for a new, ground up, facility. We must have someone who made a few bucks over the years.
I just have to wonder: Isn’t it better to tear the BSA down instead of using part of a 40 year old building?
A totally renovated BSA is much better than the FD addition. NDSU would have no control over a basketball arena as part of the FD. Look at UND, they don’t own the facilities. This will be much better as NDSU will control the building. It’s not too hard to see how easy a first class facility can come from the renovated BSA by just using the existing structure and adding to that.
Keeping the dome out of the BSA remodel keeps their money for a new football stadium. We are going to need one. The dome could then be converted to a hockey arena.
What a stupid way to do it. Spend 32 million to renovate a 40 year old POS building? If i remember correctly when it was built they said the betty in forks cost 7 million. This renovation will probably end up being Minard Hall #2.
What stands there now will only be a memory. What is planned will impress I guarantee it. Just slow down for a minute and be patient for more info to be released.
You won’t believe the plans when you see them. They are that good You won’t recognize it. They are keeping the studs simply because the structure is worth so much. Start from scratch after the steel beems. It will be first class for our student athletes. Solid capacity with room to grow. I think the suites are on the East side, someone mentioned the North. I think I am correct on that.
2 practice courts, offices for admin/staff, locker rooms for all sports, huge weight room that would walk out to the new practice field for football. This would put us on the map and lead to some serious recruiting advantages.
Sooner than later everyone. Sooner than later. Everyone was pretty tight lipped to the Fargo Forum today. Nobody wanted to say too much, didn’t want to sound overconfident. Say thanks to Saul next time you see him.
Burgundy: I hope you are correct. I get an uneasy feeling about these things. I agree, the FD is not a good option but don’t we have someone who has “made it” big time out there? I read about other schools up and down the region who make these huge donations. We have to have someone, somewhere.
I know I have been in favor of the Dome addition instead of the BSA renovation. But after reading at the Forum article today it does sound like ti could be very good. The one thing I worried about with the Dome addition is that we would be building on to a football stadium that is going to be to small in the next 5 to 10 years. Maybe sooner. I think we will be building a 25,000 to 30,000 seat dome that can be expanded to 40,000 seats in the future. As far as a basketball facility I do like the idea of an entirely new structure. I hope when we walk into the renovated BSA we think we are in a totally different building! I must say Gene Taylor always seems to make the right decisions! So I guess we trust his judgement again! Thanks Gene! Thanks Saul! Thanks Kelby K. and Mr. Sanford! Go Bison!
Lakes what do you hear about a possible new football stadium in the future? Does anyone else hear anything? Jeff? Kevin? 19,000 isn’t big enough when every game is selling out! We are close to that now! When they start turning away 4 or 5 thousand people a game they will be forced to look at a new stadium! Look at how many home games are already televised and the games still sell out! Kind of amazing when you look at other colleges at the FCS level. Go Bison!
NDSU will never build a new stadium as long as the taxpayer-funded Fargodome is still standing. As for the BSA renovation, Taylor said there are no detailed drawings yet.
Thanks Jeff! It would be hard to build a new Dome with the old one still in great condition! I have always thought that the Dome was a great facility, which in reality it is. Could the day come when it would actually hurt the Bison because it would be to small to accommodate a much larger crowd which of course in return brings in more dollars to fund Bison athletics? Go Bison!
I agree that a BSA renovation is better for the university than a basketball addition onto the Fargodome but people need to be less quick to dump the Fargodome for football. It’s true that each game, even with as poor a team as there was last year, was sold out or close to it but anyone who was at the last few games can vouch that the butt-in-seat totals were far short of capacity. Let’s get Bison football to the point where we’re consistently turning away people each game before worrying about a new facility, maybe the people who are there wouldn’t sit on their hands so much then. Despite “only” holding 19,000 the Fargodome provides a great homefield advantage because fans are so close to the field. We don’t need bigger crowds for Bison football, we need better ones (no offense intended).
Where is the Indoor Practice Facility for football? I saw one for track and baseball but nothing about a football field.
???
I wouldn’t be suprised if the longterm goal is to enclose old Dacotah to connect the new Sanford Arena and the Track/BB/SB facilities. I have heard rumors of NDSU wanting to tear down the old north stands and put a roof over the field. That has been talked about for a few years now. Probably won’t happen for quite a few years if the rumors are true though.
“The Truth” I totally agree with you that playing at the Dome will always be a huge home field advantage for the Bison. But if the day comes when they are turning away 3,000 fans or more every game it will be a problem. That is 3,000 times 5 or 6 games times how many $$$ per ticket, not to mention added revenue from concessions! If you throw beer in the mix then it will matter! I love the Dome but as Fargo-Moorhead and NDSU continue to their rapid growth the day will come when there will be a need to look at a new larger stadium. The Dome should have been built with the ability to add future seating, at least 30,000 would have been perfect now! One more thing I know that no one has bought the naming rights for the Fargodome yet. Imagine 15 million or what ever they got for the rights at the Alerus in GF plus 15 million from the Dome reserves maybe the dome would build it’s own addition as there will now be competition for smaller concerts with the BSA when it is finished, not to mention the UP Center. Go Bison!
I think an indoor football practice facility is many years away. All they have to do now is go downstairs and roll out the carpet. In just a few minutes = indoor practice facility.
The FFD was scheduled to have a second deck unfinished but you can thank Dr. Lingren(sp?) and the anti-dome crowd for nixing that. They thought a 10,000 facility was big enough. What we have was a compromise. The FFD has ice capability and a future without the Bison. As an FBS team NDSU/Fargo is in a unique market position. A stadium like Wyomings (our attendance is already about equal) would be perfect. We saw attendance double when we moved to the FCS. I think a similar multiplier would be in store for an FBS move. With the stadium more than 50% sold out now and NDSU isn’t even on a roll its becoming clear a hot team, regular playoff appearances and a NC game or two will see it close to 100%. Maybe thats good enough, but I doubt it.
So they can plan to spend $5 million for an indoor track facility (that I’m sure will be very nice) but they can’t throw in a couple million for a bubble that can be put up and taken down in the winter, over the turf practice field?! You gotta be &%$#ing me! Saint Cloud State has one of these…how hard can it be?!
It wouldn’t just be for football either. Any field sport would be able to use the bubble. Heck, they could even rent it out to intermural/adult rec leagues during the night!
Brainless..
The FargoDome has “ice capabilities”? As in a refrigeration system under the concrete? If that is so, they system was likely compromised when the place flooded. Can you confirm that this is a fact?
The Fargodome was built with the capability of ice in the future. The pipes were laid under the north end of the floor, but the refrigeration system was never installed.
I am very sorry but you folks are waaay to ready to spend somebody else’s money. $32 million is still a lot of money, no matter if there is a generous donor around or not. If Sanford or somebody else would be willing to commit any meaningful portion, Brother Gene should grab it and go!
New football stadium? What planet did that post come from…..?!
At least they didn’t say it was going to have a retractable roof! At least it isn’t going to be yet another stadium from ralph. But it does make more sense than health insurance for everyone for less than we pay now.
I have been a Bison fan for years and love footbal and basketball at NDSU. Eric and his Volleyball team has also been a pleasure to see. I do not attend the games however because of the Bison Sports Arena. The seating is poor. If you sit down low, it is rough getting up and down the bleachers and lack comfort. Now I know you may think I am an old fart that needs to stay home anyways. Maybe so, but this project is long over due! It is a must project for NDSU. This is not just about Basketball. This would benifet all the programs and also the university as a whole.
You said it all Darren! Go Bison!