Fargodome

Fargodome

Fargodome in 2009
Location	1800 University Dr N Fargo, North Dakota  United States
Owner	City of Fargo
Operator	Global Spectrum
Capacity	26,700 (Center-stage concerts) 22,000 (End-stage concert) 16,000 (3/4-house concert) 11,000 (Half-house concert) 19,000 (Football) 10,000 (basketball) 3,500 (Gate City Bank Theater)
Surface	Multi-surface
Construction
Broke ground	April 26, 1990
Opened	December 12, 1992
Construction cost	$48 million ($80.7 million in 2015 dollars[1])
Architect	Sink, Combs, Dethlefs Triebwasser, Helenske & Associates[2]
General contractor	Industrial Builders, Inc.[2]
Tenants
NDSU Bison - (Division I FCS) (1993-Present)

Fargodome is an indoor athletic stadium in Fargo, North Dakota, on the campus of North Dakota State University. Opened in late 1992, the facility is owned by the City of Fargo, built on university land. Its seating capacity is 18,700 for football and over 25,000 for full arena concerts.

It is the home field of the NDSU Bison football team, which competes in NCAA Division I, in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and holds the home field of the Division I softball team. The Fargodome contains two scoreboards on each endzone, four large video screens (one in each corner), two large electronic message centers below the scoreboards, as well as four stats boards (two centered on each sideline) all of which were installed in 2002. Prior to the 1993 season, the Bison played at Dacotah Field.

The NDSU band plays in the stands

The stadium also plays host to many large concerts, sporting events, and trade shows.

The Fargodome has held events such as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, USHRA's Monster Jam, Rib Fest, WWE, WCW, many local, regional and national events.

One of the most competitive high school/pre-college wrestling tournaments in the nation, 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.^[3]

Many famous acts have played the Fargodome including Katy Perry, Cher, Guns N' Roses, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Pearl Jam, Garth Brooks, Bon Jovi, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney,^[4] Kenny Chesney, The Dave Matthews Band, Carrie Underwood, Aerosmith, Poison, Nsync, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Kiss, Beach Boys, Faith Hill, Bryan Adams, Ozzy Osbourne, Luke Bryan, Pink, Reba McIntire, Dixie Chicks, Lady Antebellum, Bruce Springsteen, Tim Mcgraw, Def Leppard, Justin Timberlake, and many others. The Fargodome is also capable of hosting events on ice such as Disney On Ice, and traveling broadway.

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

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.^[5]

History

Volunteers fill sandbags in the Fargodome during the 2009 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
• March 1993: Guns N' Roses plays to a sold out crowd
• January 1994: Hosts Snow Bowl NCAA Division II football allstar game between 1994 and 2000
• September 1998: Garth Brooks plays to three sold out crowds September 18–20
• 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.
• October 10, 2012: The Fargodome hosted a preseason NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves won the game 84-70.
• September 6, 2013: Taylor Swift performed at The FargoDome as part of her Red Tour.
• January 11, 2014: Pink performed at the venue while on her Truth About Love Tour.
• February 7, 2014: As part of his The 20/20 Experience World Tour, Justin Timberlake will make his North Dakota concert debut at the Fargodome.
• July 12, 2014: Paul McCartney played to a crowd of 17,000 people while on his Out There Tour.
• October 14, 2012 TobyMac had a concert as a part of the Eye On It Tour, February 16, 2014 TobyMac will have a concert as part of the Hits Deep Tour.
• August 23, 2014: Katy Perry performed at The Fargodome as part of her Prismatic World Tour.

Home Field Advantage

The Fargodome during a North Dakota State Bison Football Game

NDSU Bison Football Games

Expansion

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.^[6] 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.

Crowd noise

In 2011, the Fargodome was ranked as the 49th best stadium in college football.^[7] The article cites, "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 10, 2011 in a game against Lehigh, the crowd noise was measured at 111 decibels, comparable to when the New Orleans Saints play in the Superdome. During the 2011 playoffs, the decibel level spiked past 130 decibels several times but was not an official measurement.^[8][9] On December 14, 2012 in an FCS semifinal game against Georgia Southern, the crowd noise exceeded the 111 decibel mark and was known to be one of the loudest games in NDSU history. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead conducted an informal study of Fargodome crowd noise from the press box during a playoff semifinal game last December. The readings showed a high of 111 decibels following a late touchdown by quarterback Brock Jensen. The decibel meter consistently read 102-106 throughout that game, according to The Forum.^[10] During the 2013 Furman playoff game, the crowd noise was measured at 115 decibels.^[11] The record for the loudest indoor stadium crowd was set in 2013 at the Sacramento Kings stadium Sleep Train Arena at 126 decibels. Due to the notorious noise, the Fargodome is sometimes referred to as the "Thunderdome".

References

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 46°54′10.93″N 96°48′5.58″W / 46.9030361°N 96.8015500°W / 46.9030361; -96.8015500