Jump to content
SiouxSports.com Forum

Facilities Master Plan


The Sicatoka

Recommended Posts

When it's proposed for UND, Bison fans. :D

Can you imagine if Ralph wanted to have fun with people:

To UND: "Have an architectural firm draw up the nicest stadium in the country. Leather seats. Luxury suites, milliondollar scoreboard. Tell them this is what you plan for a hockey arena in the future. If I like it, I might donate a lot of money to UND. ;) "

UND: "How many seats"

Ralph: "11-12,000"

UND: "That seems like a lot. Double the current 6,000 seat one and sometimes we can't even fill that that."

Ralph: "Dont' worry. Build it and they will come. Better to have to many seats than not enough!"

Every fan in the country to UND: "Pipe Dream"

Ralph reaction: ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we were Portland State, we wouldn't have to worry about the size of the Betty..

The Vikings are hosting Idaho State in a Big Sky Conference game at 2:05 p.m. at the Stott Center.

The school's single-game attendance record is 1,056, set against Idaho State on Feb. 13, 1999.

College basketball.

I would much rather have a problem with "where are we going to put the people" than "how can we get more people to come". Thankfully UND has some solutions for the former and the latter isn't a current concern.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw this posted over at egriz in regards to NAU.

$162M sports plan unveiled

Funding options:

--State and university funds

--Special taxing authority

--Naming rights

--Sky box and club box revenues

--Private donations

Athletics Master Plan Schedule

Phase I: 2008-09

Skydome upgrade $12.3M

Multisport facility $9.8M

Football practice fields $5.2M

Cage and throwing circles $161,000

Rolle Center upgrade $2.9M

Wall Aquatic Center upgrade $1.3M

Phase II 2010-11

Demolish Lumberjack Stadium $798,000

New Athletic Department offices, training room, lockerrooms $20.2M

Women's outdoor sports $4.7M

Phase III 2012-13

New 6,500-seat arena $86.0M

Skydome amenities $4.6M

New Lumberjack Stadium seating $3.7M

Phase IV 2013-14

Final Skydome renovations $14.0M

Outdoor tennis courts $681,000

New aquatic center UNPRICED

Total $162 million

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why would we want a really nice stadium when we can only half fill the Alerus for the last home game...a playoff game.

I don't know whether UND will need a new stadium in the foreseeable future or not, but people really need to quit focusing on playoff attendance as a barometer of interest in the program. Playoff attendance tends to be far different from regular season attendance not just at UND, but at many other schools, as well. There are a variety of reasons for it that have been discussed ad nauseum. The regular season average this year was 10,790, which I believe would have been a record at UND. I think it's reasonable to assume that once the home schedule gets to the point where we have several home games against strong opponents every year, that will increase. Whether it increases to the point where the Alerus is simply too small, we'll have to wait and see. In any event, if a new stadium is built, I think it's safe to say that it will be a result of a Engelstad-esque donation, and if a person (or people) want to make that kind of donation for a stadium, then more power to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why would we want a really nice stadium when we can only half fill the Alerus for the last home game...a playoff game.

Sadly, the late Gino-era of hockey only half filled the old (6067 capacity) REA most nights.

Given that ....

Why would anyone be dumb enough to build UND a state-of-the-art hockey facility with twice the seats? :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An interesting debate ongoing in Sioux Falls: build a 14,000 seat arena (BB/Hockey) or an 18,000 seat dome (football). Why would SF want or need a domed football stadium when there are no tenants other than high school football teams? Possible answer: the leaders of this initiative are eyeing SDSU and/or USD football as tenants. Each school must have at leat a 15,000 seat home (and preferably 18,000) if one of them ever chose to go IA. SDSU's Coughlin needs to be rebuilt from scratch to be a legitmate IA, and USD's is way too small, and neither would likely afford a new football stadium themselves.

http://argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...8/1135/SPORTS05

On the Sioux Falls sports scene, there will be no bigger story this year than the debate surrounding a new events center - and what sort of facility it should be.

If you look at surrounding Upper Midwest cities of lesser caliber (start with Sioux City, Iowa, and Fargo), there is no question we need a new stadium to brighten our future, and that we should be able to pay for it.

I've made it clear that my preference is to build a 14,000-seat events center at the existing athletic complex at West Avenue and Russell. It should connect to the convention center and replace the archaic Arena - hosting basketball, hockey, concerts, Storm football, trade shows, truck pulls and whatever passes for entertainment when 2012 rolls around.

The Coliseum Exploratory Group also wants to build on that site, but it envisions an 18,000-seat football-type facility modeled after the Fargodome. That plan would keep the Arena for hockey and basketball but get rid of Howard Wood Field.

Of those two options, a decision must be made quickly so we can approach matters of funding and public relations from a unified stance. Much of the early debate has been marred by misinformation and bickering - not the best way to lay the groundwork for a successful public vote.

Coliseum group loses founding member

The remaining chairman (Dykhouse) is an SDSU booster.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It'd be cool if SDSU had a dome. Then all of the Dakota 4 would have domes.

But my gut tells me that SDSU wants to stay at Caughlin and build their new athletics center in one of the endzones and then rebuild the visiting side stands.

This might be what USD needs to legitmately compete in FCS, along with a new bball arena.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

What will the next president inherit?

Facilities

“In our master plan, we have a significant change in the athletic component over a nine- or 10-year period,” said Rick Tonder, associate facilities director.

Those plans involve bringing athletics back to the center of campus in two main hubs, he said, one surrounding Memorial Stadium and the other around the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

The former would include track and field and soccer complexes and the latter, which is essentially complete, includes the Ralph, the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center and the UND Wellness Center.

Still waiting for these plans to become official.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a question/thought out of the blue: Could the UND softball team play games in the Alerus Center?

I see that UND has played in a tourney in the UNI-Dome and they are playing in St. Cloud's bubble-dome that they set up over the field at Husky Stadium this weekend. I also know that USD plays softball games in the DakotaDome, and NDSU has played a handful of games in the Fargodome.

Perhaps it is not possible, otherwise they would have done it at some point over the last 7 years. But if it could be done, that could help ensure that fewer home games get cancelled due to weather, and possibly even be a recruiting tool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a question/thought out of the blue: Could the UND softball team play games in the Alerus Center?

I see that UND has played in a tourney in the UNI-Dome and they are playing in St. Cloud's bubble-dome that they set up over the field at Husky Stadium this weekend. I also know that USD plays softball games in the DakotaDome, and NDSU has played a handful of games in the Fargodome.

Perhaps it is not possible, otherwise they would have done it at some point over the last 7 years. But if it could be done, that could help ensure that fewer home games get cancelled due to weather, and possibly even be a recruiting tool.

I would think it should be possible. NDSU just held a softball tournament in the Fargodome about a week ago, and I think it has less sideline space than the Alerus. The biggest problem with holding a game in a football stadium seems to be the lack of dirt running paths. The turf can sometimes cause injuries when players try to slide or pivot. When discussing the tourney on Bisonville, a poster remembered being in the FD a few years back when a visiting player snapped her leg trying to make a play. He said the snap and her scream echoed into the silence. Now, I doubt something that bad would happen every year, but it might be a reason why UND has never used the Alerus in this way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

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...