(FARGO) – Voters in the City of Fargo will go to the ballot box in November to decide on whether a one-quarter percent sales tax will be established to fund a remodel of the FARGODOME, along with ongoing capital improvements, maintenance and operation.
The Fargo City Commission voted unanimously to put the issue on the November ballot.
Dave Suppes, who serves on the FARGODOME Authority, said the authority’s plan priorities include remodeling the existing facility.
“We’re not looking at a convention center at this time,” he said. A scientific study showed that a renovation of the FARGODOME ‘was in the best interest of the FARGODOME and the FARGODOME Authority.”
Among the remodeling priorities is to improve and enhance the building’s accessibility, to include ADA accessibility; enhance the patron experiences; and create operational efficiencies.
The project would be funded by $30 million from the FARGODOME Permanent Fund, and a quarter cent sales tax, which would last for 20 years, through 2044.
The funds would be used for the remodel of the FARGODOME, future capital expenditures and the accumulation of the permanent fund.
Among the key components of the authority’s proposal is a comprehensive plan to address multiple priorities with enhancing the patron event experience at the FARGODOME; infusing existing FARGODOME funds; the sales, which would allow for visitor contribution; a phased construction, which would allow the FARGODOME to remain open and operational; and net neutral parking and permanent seats in the facility.
Matt Larsen, Athletic Director at North Dakota State University, spoke to the Commission, urging them to put the FARGODOME remodel on the November ballot.
“Over the course of the last 30 years, Bison football, Bison Nation, the City of Fargo has enjoyed a lot of wonderful moments in the FARGODOME,” he said. “We’ve been fortunate, over the years, to have ESPN televise games and, nationally, people have seen what Fargo has to offer.”
Mayor Tim Mahoney calls the project ‘long overdue.’
“It’s a place where people want to come and go,” he said.
