(FARGO) – The Fargo City Commission has given its approval of the measure that will ask voters whether or not they want to establish an additional one-quarter percent sales tax that would fund a remodel of the FARGODOME, not including a conference center addition, as well as ongoing capital improvements, maintenance and operation. The tax would be in place for 20 years.
David Suppes, President of the FARGODOME Authority, said the FARGODOME vote is separate from the conference center question.
“It is its own issue,” he said while appearing on The Jay Thomas Show.
Suppes said the tax is not just contributed to by Fargo residents, but anyone who shops in the city, as well.
Survey finds support for FARGODOME
Suppes said the FARGODOME Authority commissioned a survey that they presented at a brown bag luncheon in early July.
“The information we learned from that was intriguing,” he said. “Which then caused us to want to go back and take another shot at this and put it on the ballot.”
Suppes said 88 percent of the individuals surveyed, which totaled more than 300 individuals, said the FARGODOME “was a really good asset to the City of Fargo.”
“They had a really positive outlook on it,” he said.
Other questions were asked in the survey, and voters that were either likely to vote, or will vote in the upcoming November election, 56 percent were likely to vote in favor of the FARGODOME.
“That was without being educated with additional information,” Suppes said. He said that, with aided information, the support grew to 60 percent, which is the threshold needed for passage in the November election.
2020 Economic Impact Study: $30 to $40 million generated for the City
Suppes said that a 2020 economic impact study showed the impact that the FARGODOME had on the City of Fargo.
“It depends on the concerts or what’s going on in a given year,” he said.
But in the 2020 economic impact study, it was found that the FARGODOME generated $30 to $40 million dollars to the City of Fargo.
Sales tax process
The FARGODOME’s additional one-quarter percent sales tax would end in 20 years, if passed by voters in November.
Some citizens have voiced their opinion that the sales taxes of past may still be in play, and that this new tax would be added on top of the former tax.
“It sunsets at 20 years and falls off,” Suppes said.
An original sales tax for the FARGODOME has expired, Suppes said.
“The FARGODOME is not collecting any sales tax since its first run at it,” he said.
The authority is looking to generate $110 million of bonding capacity, and Suppes said the sales tax would “allow us to do that.”
Previous plan stopped due to COVID-19
The FARGODOME Authority, Suppes said, had previously planned to bring the plan forward to the Fargo City Commission, but the global pandemic put the brakes on the project.
“There’s nothing we could do,” he said.
Renovation plans explained
The renovation plans that are being discussed for the FARGODOME will contribute to many aspects of the facility’s success.
One aspect includes accessible seating. Suppes said that this includes ADA seating. The FARGODOME is lacking ADA accessible seating.
“We’re looking to increase the amount of ADA seating that we have out there,” he said.
The authority is also looking at improving circulation of people around the facility.
“If you’ve been to a large event out there, at halftime or at a concert, and you want to go and get a beverage of some sort, there’s not enough circulation for people to move around,” Suppes said.
He said bathrooms will also be improved.
Club seating will be added for NDSU Bison football games, along with new LED displays.
“It’s trying to take what we have in there right now, and give it a good freshener, and maybe bring it as close as we can to what a modern facility would be if it’s brand new, working within the confines that we have right now,” Suppes said.
Funding the project
The FARGODOME will be putting $30 million into the project. The money will come from the Permanent Fund.
NDSU will not be contributing to the project, Suppes said.
“Keep in mind that the FARGODOME is the City of Fargo’s asset, and NDSU is a wonderful tenant,” he said. “NDSU collectively uses the FARGODOME less than 20 percent of its totality.”
Suppes said NDSU does pay rent, so the University is helping fund the project through the operating agreement between the University and FARGODOME as lessors and lessees.
