Fargodome

Fargodome

View from east in 2009
Fargo Location in the United States Show map of the United States Fargo Location in North Dakota Show 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; 31 years ago (1992-12-02)
Construction cost	$48 million ($112 million in 2023 [1] )
Architect	Sink, Combs, Dethlefs Triebwasser, Helenske & Associates [2]
General contractor	Industrial Builders, Inc. [2]
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 in the north central United States, located on the campus of North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, North Dakota. Opened 32 years ago in late 1992, the facility is owned by the City of Fargo and built on university land. 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

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. ^[3]

Volunteers fill sandbags in the Fargodome during
the 2009 Red River flood

• 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. ^[4]
• 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. ^[5]
• 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. ^[6]
• 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. ^[7] 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. ^{[8] [9]}

Events and acts

The Fargodome has held events such as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, USHRA's Monster Jam, Rib Fest, 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. ^[10]

College wrestling

The Asics/Vaughan Cadet and Junior National Wrestling Championships (freestyle, Greco-Roman wrestling) takes place every year in the Fargodome in the month of July. ^[11]

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.

Date	Artist(s)	Opening act(s)	Event Name	Attendance	Revenue	Notes
March 21, 1993	Guns N' Roses	Brian May Band [12]	Use Your Illusion Tour	—	—
December 8, 1997	Prince	—	Jam of the Year World Tour	—	—	[13]
September 18, 1998	Garth Brooks	—	The Garth Brooks World Tour	—	—
September 19, 1998
September 20, 1998
December 5, 1998	Shania Twain	Leahy	Come On Over Tour	—	—
February 17, 1999	The Rolling Stones	Jonny Lang	No Security Tour	21,970 / 21,970	$1,501,183
November 6, 1999	Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band	—	Reunion Tour	17,245 / 20,000	—
December 3, 1999	NSYNC	—	NSYNC in Concert	—	—
September 29, 2002	Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band	—	The Rising Tour	—	—
August 17, 2004	Metallica	—	Madly in Anger with the World Tour	—	—	[14]
September 6, 2013	Taylor Swift	Ed Sheeran Casey James	The Red Tour	21,073 / 21,073	$1,661,578
January 11, 2014	Pink	The Kin	The Truth About Love Tour	21,879 / 21,879	$1,613,670	This show was originally scheduled to take place on October 27, 2013, but was postponed due to vocal rest. This concert used to hold the record for highest attendance and ticket sells record in the venue's history, until she broke her own record in 2019. [15]
February 7, 2014	Justin Timberlake	DJ Freestyle	The 20/20 Experience World Tour	15,639 / 15,639	$1,329,810	This was his first concert in the state of North Dakota.
February 14, 2014	Toby Mac	—	Hits Deep Tour	–	–
July 12, 2014	Paul McCartney	—	Out There	18,220 / 18,220	$2,247,472	This was his first concert in the state of North Dakota.
August 23, 2014	Katy Perry	Kacey Musgraves Ferras	Prismatic World Tour	21,843 / 21,843	$1,660,459
November 16, 2014	Mötley Crüe	—	The Final Tour	-	-
October 12, 2015	Taylor Swift	Vance Joy	The 1989 World Tour	21,067 / 21,067	$2,219,188	This concert was originally planned to take place on September 9, but was postponed to October 12 to avoid any potential scheduling conflict with the Houston Astros potentially making the 2015 Major League Baseball postseason. [16]
February 11, 2016	AC/DC	Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown	Rock or Bust World Tour	19,308 / 19,308	$2,049,080	[17]
May 5, 2016	Garth Brooks	—	The Garth Brooks World Tour with Trisha Yearwood	73,480	$5,100,000	[18]
May 6, 2016
May 7, 2016
May 8, 2016
June 4, 2016	James Taylor	–	Before this World Tour	–	–
June 18, 2016	Justin Bieber	Post Malone Moxie Raia	Purpose World Tour	12,451 / 12,451	$1,177,819	[19]
August 4, 2017	Bruno Mars	–	24K Magic World Tour	–	–
August 24, 2017	Tim McGraw and Faith Hill	Natalie Hemby	Soul2Soul: The World Tour	–	–
October 17, 2018	Ed Sheeran	Snow Patrol Lauv	Divide Tour	17,762 / 17,762	$1,766,790
May 4, 2019	Pink	Julia Michaels	Beautiful Trauma World Tour	22,164 / 22,164	$2,927,135
September 14, 2019	Bob Seger	-	Roll Me Away: The Final Tour	-	-
October 30, 2019	Celine Dion	—	Courage World Tour	10,473 / 12,239	$1,174,539
August 11, 2021	Guns N' Roses	Mammoth WVH	Guns N' Roses 2020 Tour	9,100 / 10,087	$988,411
July 27, 2022	Machine Gun Kelly	Avril Lavigne Willow	Mainstream Sellout Tour	11,908 / 11,908	$714,355
April 6, 2023	Red Hot Chili Peppers	The Strokes King Princess	Global Stadium Tour	19,331 / 19,311	$2,067,826
August 11, 2023	Def Leppard Mötley Crüe	Alice Cooper	The World Tour	-	-
August 19, 2023	Pink	Brandi Carlile Grouplove KidCutUp	Summer Carnival	-	-
November 5, 2023	Shania Twain	Lily Rose	Queen of Me Tour	-	-	[20]

Gate City Bank Theater

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

Expansion and renovations

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. ^[21] 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 m²) 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

The Fargodome during a North Dakota State Bison football game

In 2011, the Fargodome was ranked as the 49th best stadium in college football by BleacherReport.com. ^[22] 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. ^[23] During a 2013 playoff game between North Dakota State and Furman, the crowd noise was measured at 115 decibels. ^[24]

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 ^{[ dead link ]}
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.
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 . 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. https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/shania-twain-b47b6261-d24d-4f4b-a62e-3b4cd963d3a8 ^{[ bare URL ]}
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″N96°48′6″W / 46.90306°N 96.80167°W / 46.90306; -96.80167