Jump to content
SiouxSports.com Forum

New turf at the Alerus


darell1976

Recommended Posts

Alerus really should receive some negative points for this one. No reason a collaborative deal could not have been made (e.g. Fargodome & Gate City Bank)

Not sure to as why UND had to foot 2 million for the new rug. What was the Alerus going to put in or was it not time for a new rug? The Alerus naming rights up soon?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I posted on this a while back, but I could not and can not find a college football field in the country where the Corporate Sponsor has full domain over all midfield designs. I dont know who negotiated that agreement, but to give up brand authority like that is, well, dumb.

The Alerus Center is owned by the City of Grand Forks, not UND. UND is just a tenant. The tenant doesn't normally define the terms of the Naming Rights contract for the facility. The terms of the naming rights contract were pretty good for the city when the contract was signed, so putting a UND logo at midfield was probably not on their minds.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a difference in the naming rights agreements. Alerus Financial pays for naming rights of the Alerus Center. Gate City pays for naming rights of the theater at the Fargodome. That is a lower level agreement. If they called it the Gate City Dome it would probably be different.

Gate City did a separate deal to specifically name the field. It would only be different if Gate City didn't understand that the combination of their logo alongside the NDSU logo does them a better service than just their logo. But, to their credit Gate City understands that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure to as why UND had to foot 2 million for the new rug. What was the Alerus going to put in or was it not time for a new rug? The Alerus naming rights up soon?

The agreement was that after 10 years the Al would replace the turf with a comparable product, or something like that. Basically if UND wouldn't have chipped in they would have put in another crappy rug. Alerus Financial is such a joke.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure to as why UND had to foot 2 million for the new rug. What was the Alerus going to put in or was it not time for a new rug? The Alerus naming rights up soon?

UND put up $2 million because they wanted to upgrade to the top of the line turf. The Alerus Center had budgeted for basic replacement of what was there. UND wanted the upgrade. So UND paid for the upgrade.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Alerus Center is owned by the City of Grand Forks, not UND. UND is just a tenant. The tenant doesn't normally define the terms of the Naming Rights contract for the facility. The terms of the naming rights contract were pretty good for the city when the contract was signed, so putting a UND logo at midfield was probably not on their minds.

Just a tenant? They are the whole reason the damn thing exists in the first place. The single most important tenant for the Alerus Center was involved in those discussions. Alerus' decision to get involved was because UND was the single most important tenant.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

UND put up $2 million because they wanted to upgrade to the top of the line turf. The Alerus Center had budgeted for basic replacement of what was there. UND wanted the upgrade. So UND paid for the upgrade.

Man chipping in 2 Mill, they should have sat down with Newman and explained to him the way of the world. What would happen when the naming rights come up if UND bids and wins, then puts their new nickname on it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a tenant? They are the whole reason the damn thing exists in the first place. The single most important tenant for the Alerus Center was involved in those discussions. Alerus' decision to get involved was because UND was the single most important tenant.

I wonder what the Alerus will turn into once the football team moves out. The place already seems pretty dead.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I understand Gate City Bank and the Fargodome have a lesser deal than that of Alerus Financial and the Alerus Center; however, there is still no reason Alerus Financial/the Alerus Center has to take up the entire middle field exclusively for their logo. A format similar to what the Fargodome and Gate City Bank did would still seem appropriate, despite the magnitude of the naming rights. Ultimately, I wish UND and Alerus Financial could've agreed on an interlocking ND at midfield and smaller yet similarly placed Alerus Center logos. Oh well, too much power for Alerus Financial through their exclusive naming rights I guess.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I understand Gate City Bank and the Fargodome have a lesser deal than that of Alerus Financial and the Alerus Center; however, there is still no reason Alerus Financial/the Alerus Center has to take up the entire middle field exclusively for their logo. A format similar to what the Fargodome and Gate City Bank did would still seem appropriate, despite the magnitude of the naming rights. Ultimately, I wish UND and Alerus Financial could've agreed on an interlocking ND at midfield and smaller yet similarly placed Alerus Center logos. Oh well, too much power for Alerus Financial through their exclusive naming rights I guess.

Maybe part of the reason that they didn't push to have the interlocking ND at midfield is the fact that UND will be looking at a new nickname and logo in less than 3 years. The turf is going to be in place for at least 10 years.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe part of the reason that they didn't push to have the interlocking ND at midfield is the fact that UND will be looking at a new nickname and logo in less than 3 years. The turf is going to be in place for at least 10 years.

I assume that no matter what nickname they go with the university will still be of North Dakota and the football team never really associated with the Sioux logo anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I assume that no matter what nickname they go with the university will still be of North Dakota and the football team never really associated with the Sioux logo anyway.

No, the football never used the Sioux logo much. But that doesn't mean that they won't use the new logo, depending on what it looks like. The fact that it is a question mark might be the hangup. There have been people that want to move away from the interlocking ND logo because of the association with Notre Dame. It is possible that they just didn't want to lock themselves into using that logo for another 10 or more years if the rest of the department is moving to a new name and logo.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, the football never used the Sioux logo much. But that doesn't mean that they won't use the new logo, depending on what it looks like. The fact that it is a question mark might be the hangup. There have been people that want to move away from the interlocking ND logo because of the association with Notre Dame. It is possible that they just didn't want to lock themselves into using that logo for another 10 or more years if the rest of the department is moving to a new name and logo.

Great point. while the interlocking ND logo has been associated with the football team more than any other team, that doesn't mean that UND won't move away from that in the future. New name means new logo and new jerseys. And for the football team, new helmets!!! So I can see how they may have left it off.

Instead of being ticked about the logos on the new turf, we should be excited that we have new state of the art turf that will not only look great, but will be a whole lot easier on out players!! Lets just put things in perspective.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great point. while the interlocking ND logo has been associated with the football team more than any other team, that doesn't mean that UND won't move away from that in the future. New name means new logo and new jerseys. And for the football team, new helmets!!! So I can see how they may have left it off.

Instead of being ticked about the logos on the new turf, we should be excited that we have new state of the art turf that will not only look great, but will be a whole lot easier on out players!! Lets just put things in perspective.

Good point, I have been a bit disappointed with the whole Alerus logo situation and now realize it's not worth getting worked up. The new turf is awesome and even better for the players.

Anyone think we will see less lower body injuries this year?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have we read for sure there isn't going to be a center field logo? Couldn't it go on after the fact, similar to how it's done at the Metrodome? They have artificial turf (maybe the same stuff the Alerus Center is getting) and they're able to apply logos and remove them to put on new logos whenever they want.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...