82SiouxGuy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 The Alerus logos don't financially benefit UND athletics in any way The logos represent dollars coming in to the Alerus Center each year. Those dollars keep costs down on the facility, which helps keep costs down for UND using the facility. They help keep the facility operating which allows UND to continue to use the facility. And they are a contractual reality of using the facility. UND doesn't own the facility, that is one of the big differences between Memorial and the Alerus Center. If you don't own the facility you can't dictate everything that happens. UND is a large tenant, but they are only a tenant. But the dollars that Alerus Financial pays in naming rights do indirectly benefit UND financially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82SiouxGuy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 The Alerus logos don't financially benefit UND athletics in any way A few other things to consider. If the Alerus Center had not been built, UND would have had to spend a lot of money upgrading Memorial Stadium. The city spent the money instead of UND. The indoor facility helps UND by taking weather out of the equation most of the time for games. Bad weather often limited crowds at Memorial. That doesn't happen at the Alerus Center. That should be additional dollars in the UND coffers. Also remember that other people use the football field. UND isn't the only football team that ever plays there. High school teams from both sides of the river use the field. Some conferences have used the field for a day. And playoffs for both North Dakota and Minnesota use the field every year. It is UND's home field, but it belongs to the city of Grand Forks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNDvince97-01 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 All of these details are fine and dandy - and I appreciate those of you that have contributed them to try help understand the situation. However, while I understand that Alerus Financial is no doubt a business in the end and has to do what's best for them, what better way to "connect" with the local community and their client base than to unite with the local University that everyone loves and appreciates? Would it really hurt their imaging and branding to have an ND logo at mid-field? Regardless of what our nickname is in 2015, won't we still be the University of North Dakota (ND)? UND and Alerus Financial - together for the same cause. (corny, I know, but effective) Wouldn't that help with their overall image locally, rather than have people wondering why the hell the UND logo isn't on there? I can guarantee you nobody would be complaining on the other side had the ND logo been on centerfield. It just seems too easy to do and I'm very disappointed that something couldn't have been worked out between Alerus Financial, the City of Grand Forks and UND to make it happen. Gate City found a way to make it work and I'm sure the people of Fargo are grateful to them for putting out such an aesthetically nice-looking product on the Fargodome floor. I'm just sayin'.... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 The Alerus logos don't financially benefit UND athletics in any way Actually, Alerus Financial's contribution to obtain naming rights to the arena basically provides a huge subsidy to offset the cost of North Dakota's athletic facilities. The university pays the city to rent the facility. Without Alerus Financial's generous contribution, the rent charged to UND would be much higher. Personally, I could care less what logos are on this new state of the art field. It is a small price to pay for having one of the finest venues in FCS......................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82SiouxGuy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 All of these details are fine and dandy - and I appreciate those of you that have contributed them to try help understand the situation. However, while I understand that Alerus Financial is no doubt a business in the end and has to do what's best for them, what better way to "connect" with the local community and their client base than to unite with the local University that everyone loves and appreciates? Would it really hurt their imaging and branding to have an ND logo at mid-field? Regardless of what our nickname is in 2015, won't we still be the University of North Dakota (ND)? UND and Alerus Financial - together for the same cause. (corny, I know, but effective) Wouldn't that help with their overall image locally, rather than have people wondering why the hell the UND logo isn't on there? I can guarantee you nobody would be complaining on the other side had the ND logo been on centerfield. It just seems too easy to do and I'm very disappointed that something couldn't have been worked out between Alerus Financial, the City of Grand Forks and UND to make it happen. Gate City found a way to make it work and I'm sure the people of Fargo are grateful to them for putting out such an aesthetically nice-looking product on the Fargodome floor. I'm just sayin'.... Gate City has a much smaller investment in the game. And the contract was much more recent so placement of the logos was probably discussed in the negotiations.. It isn't exactly a fair comparison. To be perfectly honest, I think that there will only be a very small minority of people that will really have an issue with whatever logo is at mid-field. It isn't going to be a big deal to the vast majority. I personally don't care. It isn't going to affect my life in any way. It isn't going to affect my enjoyment of the games. That's the reason I'm looking at the field, to watch the games. I don't care what logos are on the field. I find the entire issue pretty much irrelevant. The only reason I entered the discussion was to make sure that people understood some of the reasons. In fact, I find it very amusing that people are getting so wound up about this issue. Just like the uniform issue, I didn't have any idea that football fans were so caught up in fashion and color. As long as the field isn't embarrassing (like red or purple), and the uniforms match without having advertising on them, I show up to watch football. The rest is meaningless to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIOUXFAN97 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 i think people are getting the naming rights contract and the actual logos on the field confused...yes the naming right agreement makes money for the alerus so in theory that could benefit und but the actual logos on the field do no create any revenue for und athletics...if i'm not incorrect the naming rights says the alerus logos are to be postioned at midfield? whose to say that the alerus people decided to put a huge mountain dew logo at the 25 yard line on the south side of the buildng and a huge burger king logo at the 25 on the north side? now that would bring in some new revenue!!! someone please show me one sporting venue where the name of the building is larger than the logo of the main tenant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 i think people are getting the naming rights contract and the actual logos on the field confused...yes the naming right agreement makes money for the alerus so in theory that could benefit und but the actual logos on the field do no create any revenue for und athletics... But they do provide revenue for Alerus Financial which is a big contributor to North Dakota athletics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82SiouxGuy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 i think people are getting the naming rights contract and the actual logos on the field confused...yes the naming right agreement makes money for the alerus so in theory that could benefit und but the actual logos on the field do no create any revenue for und athletics...if i'm not incorrect the naming rights says the alerus logos are to be postioned at midfield? whose to say that the alerus people decided to put a huge mountain dew logo at the 25 yard line on the south side of the buildng and a huge burger king logo at the 25 on the north side? now that would bring in some new revenue!!! someone please show me one sporting venue where the name of the building is larger than the logo of the main tenant? Having the logo at midfield is probably part of the naming rights contract. I am pretty sure that the naming rights contract spells out where the name is displayed and how it is displayed. Therefore it is part of the revenue stream supporting the building and in turn benefiting UND. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNDvince97-01 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I certainly can understand and respect that some on here don't care about a UND logo at midfield, but I tend to believe the majority thinks otherwise. I also tend to think recruits might think otherwise. It might be a small thing in the big scheme, but the little things count and add up. The coaching staff has adopted a "one percent better" mantra for the program because they all add up to making a difference and the program better overall. This could be a "one percent better" type of thing, maybe even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siouxperfan7 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I am one that is glad that we got new turf that is top of the line. The logos really don't bother me. UND has never played a home game on a filed with a UND logo at midfield, so nothing is different. The Alerus contributed to the turf and have the rights to put their logo wherever they want as per the deal they signed. That's fine. They payed for the right to do that. But you can still have the ALerus Center logos at midfield as well as a UND logo. They were able to put fairly large Gate City Bank logos at the Fargodome and still have plenty of roon for an NDSU logo in the middle. The same thing could have been done at the Alerus. So now instead of people having a favorable view of the ALerus Center that the pitched in to get new turf, not puting a ND logo at midfield gives them negative reaction from many people. For a building that stuggles to be in the black year in and year out, you really don't want to tick of the people that support your biggest money maker tenant. That being said, It still is interesting that the logos aren't part of the turf installation like I pointed out before. This leaves the possiblility that they are painting the logos on. which leaves the possibility of redisigning the loom of the field in regards to logos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 OK, flip it around: What if midfield say "North Dakota" and the end zones said "Alerus Center". Would that be better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goyotes Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Should have put Alerus Center in the same position as H Lauren Lewis Field on the new turf in the DakotaDome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siouxperfan7 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 OK, flip it around: What if midfield say "North Dakota" and the end zones said "Alerus Center". Would that be better? Neither. Obviously there is a way to balance between corporate naming rights and recognizing the team that primarily uses it. NDSU is a great example...and now South Dakota. I am curious to see if there is any FCS or FBS teams that have a logo at midfield that is not the teams or schools logo. If anyone can think of any, I would like to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Maybe UND should just adopt "Alerus" as the nickname. Problem. Solved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82SiouxGuy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Neither. Obviously there is a way to balance between corporate naming rights and recognizing the team that primarily uses it. NDSU is a great example...and now South Dakota. I am curious to see if there is any FCS or FBS teams that have a logo at midfield that is not the teams or schools logo. If anyone can think of any, I would like to know. I wonder why it matters if there is another example or not. If this is in the naming rights contract it has been there for more than a decade. The contract is for 20 years and it is more than 1/2 way through. They aren't likely to change the contract when it is more than 50% complete. So complaining about it isn't going to do anyone any good. Maybe they can change it for the next contract, which will go into effect right before the next round of turf is being discussed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darell1976 Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Should have put Alerus Center in the same position as H Lauren Lewis Field on the new turf in the DakotaDome This is a nice design. The name of the field is exactly where it belongs...on the sidelines. The name in the middle with the Coyote is pretty sharp. Maybe in 2015 it will say North Dakota with UND's new logo on the 50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UND-1 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Should have put Alerus Center in the same position as H Lauren Lewis Field on the new turf in the DakotaDome Interesting that USD had the ability to put some color and actual thought into their field. UND chose the default selection in the turf-design program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNDvince97-01 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Should have put Alerus Center in the same position as H Lauren Lewis Field on the new turf in the DakotaDome What a great looking design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siouxperfan7 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I wonder why it matters if there is another example or not. If this is in the naming rights contract it has been there for more than a decade. The contract is for 20 years and it is more than 1/2 way through. They aren't likely to change the contract when it is more than 50% complete. So complaining about it isn't going to do anyone any good. Maybe they can change it for the next contract, which will go into effect right before the next round of turf is being discussed. If the naming rights contract said that the Alerus Center logo had to be at midfiled, that's fine. Many peolpe would like to see the interlocking ND logo at midfield. My point is you can do both while still unholding the contract with the Alerus Center. Miving the Alerus Center logos towards the sidelines allowing plenty of room for the ND logo is deffinitely something that the Alerus Center could have done. The fact that they didn't do this just seems kind of dumb since other schools can make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UND-1 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 What a great looking design. Exactly. It appears that the administration at USD actually took more than 10 minutes to approve the design for their turf. Red end zones, logos in the end zone and at mid-field. Red sidelines. That pops when you walk into the dome and see it. Plain green with zero contrast does not. This is embarrassing. I would love for Jayson Hajdu or somebody to please explain why they completely avoided any attempt at creativity with their turf (I know he probably had nothing to do with it but he works there and is on here). Change the tone of the greens every ten yards, black end zones, logos in end zones, etc. Anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotadan Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Our football program is definitely headed in the right direction when the biggest thing we have to complain about is the logos on our brand new state of the art turf as we head into the Big Sky for our 1st season being playoff eligable! Good time to be a NoDak football fan. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82SiouxGuy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 If the naming rights contract said that the Alerus Center logo had to be at midfiled, that's fine. Many peolpe would like to see the interlocking ND logo at midfield. My point is you can do both while still unholding the contract with the Alerus Center. Miving the Alerus Center logos towards the sidelines allowing plenty of room for the ND logo is deffinitely something that the Alerus Center could have done. The fact that they didn't do this just seems kind of dumb since other schools can make it work. But you are also avoiding the other factor I brought up before. UND will be introducing a new nickname and logo in 2015. Maybe UND plans to use the new logo for football also. Or they want to leave the possibility open. After all, a lot of people don't like the interlocking ND logo since it is so similar to Notre Dame. If they put the ND logo into the turf it would be harder to switch logos in 3 years. I don't know if that factored into the discussions, but I would bet that it was at least discussed. And your scenario may or may not be possible depending on how the naming rights contract was written. It may be spelled out very specifically how the logo is displayed and where. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teeder11 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I'm lost. All the pictures I've seen have no logo in the middle right now. The last update I saw was yesterday morning, and at that time, there was no logo -- Alerus or otherwise at midfield. Did I miss it where it was said somewhere that the "Alerus" logo was for sure what is intended to be put at mid field? Help bring me up to speed on this bubbling controversy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teeder11 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Our football program is definitely headed in the right direction when the biggest thing we have to complain about is the logos on our brand new state of the art turf as we head into the Big Sky for our 1st season being playoff eligable! Good time to be a NoDak football fan. ^^^^^ This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82SiouxGuy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Exactly. It appears that the administration at USD actually took more than 10 minutes to approve the design for their turf. Red end zones, logos in the end zone and at mid-field. Red sidelines. That pops when you walk into the dome and see it. Plain green with zero contrast does not. This is embarrassing. I would love for Jayson Hajdu or somebody to please explain why they completely avoided any attempt at creativity with their turf (I know he probably had nothing to do with it but he works there and is on here). Change the tone of the greens every ten yards, black end zones, logos in end zones, etc. Anything! You do realize that UND didn't have any power to decide. They are a tenant, not the owners of the facility. They had input, but the decision was made by the Alerus Center Commission, the body that runs the facility. The difference at USD is that they own their facility. They can do what they want. Since the Alerus Center is a multi-use facility owned by the city of Grand Forks, it isn't going to be as specifically UND as a facility like the Dakotadome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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