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Fargodome

FargoLocation in the United StatesShow map of the United StatesFargoLocation in North DakotaShow map of North Dakota
Full name	Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome
Address	1800 University Dr N
Location	North Dakota State University Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.
Owner	City of Fargo
Operator	Fargo Dome Authority
Capacity	18,700 (football) Concerts Gate City Bank Theater: 3,500 Half house: 11,000 3/4 house: 16,000 End stage: 22,000 Center stage:26,700
Surface	Artificial turf
Construction
Broke ground	April 26, 1990 (1990-04-26)
Opened	December 2, 1992; 32 years ago (1992-12-02)
Construction cost	$48 million ($112 million in 2023)
Architect	Sink, Combs, Dethlefs Triebwasser, Helenske & Associates
General contractor	Industrial Builders, Inc.
Main contractors	Meinecke-Johnson
Tenants
Fargo-Moorhead Fever (CBA) (1992–1994) North Dakota State Bison (NCAA) (1993–present) Fargo Freeze (IFL) (2000)

Fargodome is an indoor athletic stadium and convention center in the north central United States, located on the campus of North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, North Dakota. It opened in 1992 and is owned and operated by the city despite being built on the university's campus. The facility is not an actual dome, its seating capacity is 18,700 for football and over 25,000 for full arena concerts. Its approximate elevation at street level is 900 feet (275 m) above sea level.

Fargodome is the home field of the Bison football team, which competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). NDSU is a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and prior to the 1993 season, the football venue was Dacotah Field, adjacent to the south. The stadium also hosts the university's commencement ceremonies as well as many large concerts, other sporting events, and trade shows.

History

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The building was originally planned to be modeled on the Tacoma Dome and have an inflatable roof. However, as the design evolved, it was decided to have a fixed hard roof, although the dome name stuck.

• November 1987: Fargo Parks Superintendent Bob Johnson and City Council President Ranen Nicholson proposed a plan for convention and athletic facilities in Fargo.
• January 1988: Proposed plan was modified to include a single stadium to be built on North Dakota State University land, that would be financed in part by a half-cent sales tax.
• December 1988: Voters approved half-cent sales tax
• April 1989: Architects hired and construction process begins
• December 1992: Fargodome opens
• January 1994: Hosts Snow Bowl NCAA Division II football all-star game between 1994 and 2000
• December 2002: Fargodome celebrates its 10th anniversary
• December 2006: Initial talks underway to attach a 6,000–9,000-seat stadium to the Fargodome, for use as a basketball arena for the North Dakota State University basketball teams, as well as smaller performances.
• March 2009: The Fargodome is used for the filling and storage of sandbags during the flood.
• August 31, 2012: The newly installed AstroTurf, funded by a $1 million donation from Gate City Bank and Fargodome reserve funds for total cost of $2.9 million, premiered in the North Dakota State Bison football team's first game of the season against Robert Morris. Gate City Bank’s donation led to renaming of the field after the company.
• October 10, 2012: The Fargodome hosted a preseason NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves won the game 84–70.
• August 2016: Replaced 4 older corner video boards with new HD boards, and added 2 new large (100'x30') Video Screens at a cost of $7.7 million.
• July 2022: Replaced the older version AstroTurf with a new version, funded by the Fargodome's reserve funds for a total price of $1.1 million, which also includes upgrades to the Magic Carpet system that rolls out the turf onto the stadium floor.
• August 2023: Proposed renovation plans were unveiled for the Fargodome. The plans would add on a convention center space to the south side of the dome that would eliminate the south parking lot. The plans also called for a new upper level concourse in the southeast corner of the stadium, a remodel of the press box on the east side, removal of the never-used north side press box, and a new club level lounge at the top of the west side. Lastly, the project calls for a removal of Albrecht Boulevard on the west side of the dome, to make way for an addition to the building and move the tailgating lot closer to the stadium. The proposed cost is $140 million and is planned to be paid for with $30 million from the Fargodome's reserve fund, as well as a quarter-cent city sales tax increase and a three percent lodging tax increase. Fargo residents voted on the proposed renovation plan during a special election in December, in which the measure failed. 52% of the votes cast were in favor of the renovation, but the measure needed 60% to pass.

Events and acts

The Fargodome has held events such as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, USHRA's Monster Jam, Happy Harry's Ribfest, World Wrestling Entertainment, World Championship Wrestling, and other local, regional, and national events. The facility briefly played host to the Fargo Freeze Indoor Football League team in 2000, though the team played just one season.

Amateur Wrestling

The USA Wrestling 16U/Junior National Wrestling Championships (Women’s and Men’s Freestyle, Men’s Greco-Roman) takes place every year in the Fargodome in the month of July.

Entertainment

Many famous acts have played the Fargodome including Elton John, Katy Perry, Cher, Guns N' Roses, Fleetwood Mac, Journey, The Rolling Stones, Pearl Jam, Garth Brooks, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, AC/DC, Paul McCartney, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Aerosmith, Poison, Nsync, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Kiss, Beach Boys, Faith Hill, Bryan Adams, Ozzy Osbourne, Luke Bryan, Pink, Reba McEntire, Dixie Chicks, Lady Antebellum, Bruce Springsteen, Tim McGraw, Def Leppard, Metallica, Prince, Justin Timberlake, Mötley Crüe and many others. The Fargodome is also capable of hosting events on ice such as Disney on Ice, and traveling broadway.

Gate City Bank Theater

The Fargodome's Gate City Bank Theater is home to theatrical productions, produced locally and touring.

Expansion and renovations

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The Fargodome is currently studying an expansion of its permanent seating. The current capacity is 18,700 with an additional 100 seats to be added during the winter 2015. The addition of 5,000 to 7,500 seats has been discussed since 2011, but is now being seriously considered after several straight years of sold out NDSU Bison football games. That would bring the total capacity for football games to around 25,000. The additional seating would require major structural changes to the dome, including moving the press boxes from the east side to the west side. The west side has been reinforced and could handle extra levels, whereas the east side has a lobby that was not designed to bear any extra load.

In summer 2016, the stadium video boards were replaced with 12 new interior displays featuring SMD LED technology including two large 30'x100' High Definition video/scoreboards on each endzone, 12'x24' screens behind those large screens for those seated behind the board, and four large 20'x22' High Definition video boards (one in each corner), the $7.7 million project also provided for four ribbon displays on the seating fascia 3' high and 33' long along with a portable 15' x 25' screen which can be moved around on gameday, the project also renovated the electronics room and provided for new computer and graphics technology. These screens replaced the 6 old boards installed in 2002. In total, the new boards provide for 8,500 square feet (790 m) of LED boards in the dome. The contract also provided for an increase from 3 to 5 High Definition cameras for additional angles, one of the cameras has a 55x extra zoom for close up play.

In the summer of 2022, the stadium replaced its aging AstroTurf with a newer version. It cost the Fargodome $1.1 million, which it paid for using the stadium reserve funds, that also included upgrades to the Magic Carpet system that rolls out the turf onto the stadium floor.

Crowd noise

In 2011, the Fargodome was ranked as the 49th best stadium in college football by BleacherReport.com. The article states

There aren't many indoor venues in college football, but the few that do exist at the non-FBS level are very unfriendly to any visiting team. That effect is only amplified in a playoff atmosphere.

The Fargodome is routinely ranked as one of the loudest college football stadiums in the country. On December 14, 2012, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead measured the Fargodome crowd noise from the press box during an FCS playoff semifinal game between North Dakota State and Georgia Southern. According to The Forum, the maximum crowd noise exceeded 111 decibels, and the decibel meter consistently read 102–106 during the game. During a 2013 playoff game between North Dakota State and Furman, the crowd noise was measured at 115 decibels.

See also

• List of NCAA Division I FCS football stadiums

References

1. 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
2. ^ Archived July 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
3. Archived November 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
4. "New AstroTurf fielding rave reviews". INFORUM. August 31, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
5. http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/region/3934281-fargodome-oks-95-million-new-video-boards
6. "Dom Izzo's Missouri Valley-Summit League Notebook - Lots of Turf Coming to NDSU and SDSU lands the champs". Fargo Forum. July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
7. "Proposed $131 million Fargodome project could significantly impact Bison football fans". inforum.com. Forum of Fargo/Moorhead. August 22, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
8. "City eyes new sales tax, lodging tax to fund Fargodome expansion, conference center". InForum. August 22, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
9. Janke, Ryan. "Ballot measure fails to pass for Fargodome expansion and conference center". The Mighty 790 KFGO | KFGO. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
10. Jul 22nd 2013 - 6pm, Forum News Service | (July 22, 2013). "Indoor Football League ponders Fargo expansion, too". Bemidji Pioneer. Retrieved January 31, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. "USA Wrestling Fargo".
12. "ON THIS DAY IN QUEEN HISTORY - 21 MARCH". Brianmay.com. Retrieved March 21, 2022. In 1993 - The Brian May Band played the Fargodome, Fargo, North Dakota, USA.
13. "Throwback Thursday: Prince's 1997 Fargodome show as reviewed..." Inforum. April 21, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
14. "Metallica Setlist at Fargodome, Fargo". setlist.fm. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
15. "Pink". thetruthaboutlovetour.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
16. "Date Change for Taylor Swift Concert at FARGODOME". Valley News Live. July 27, 2015. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
17. Lamb, John. "AC/DC not too old to rock 'n' roll". INFORUM. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
18. "Fargodome made more than 500,000 on Garth Brooks concerts". Inforum. June 21, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
19. "Event Information | FargoDome". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
20. "Nov 05, 2023: Shania Twain / Lily Rose at Fargodome Fargo, North Dakota, United States | Concert Archives".
21. "Fargodome officials consider adding seats for Bison games | INFORUM". Archived from the original on October 26, 2014.
22. "Ranking the Greatest Stadiums in College Football, Final 2011 Edition". Bleacher Report. December 5, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
23. "NDSU to study decibel levels at playoff football game".
24. "NDSU fans reach 115 decibels at playoff game".

External links

• Official website

46°54′11″N 96°48′6″W / 46.90306°N 96.80167°W / 46.90306; -96.80167

• College football venues in North Dakota
• Covered stadiums in the United States
• North Dakota State Bison football
• Buildings and structures in Fargo, North Dakota
• Tourist attractions in Fargo, North Dakota
• Convention centers in North Dakota
• Concert halls in the United States
• 1992 establishments in North Dakota
• Sports venues completed in 1992
• Music venues completed in 1992
• Basketball venues in North Dakota
• Sports venues in North Dakota