Facilities Master Plan

[darell1976]

In a word, why?

Need 3000 to 3500 seats? The Betty.

Need 5000-6000 seats? Lower bowl of REA, or ...

Need 8000-9000? Alerus Center (in BB config).

Need 13000 seats for BB? REA.

A 5000-6000 seat arena seems like duplication right now, unless it's an ice rink first (which Grand Forks always seems to need another sheet).

Closing thought on this: Multiple events ... can you imagine the parking nightmares ...

However, for UND right now the greatest need is an indoor training facility (or an on-campus, domed football stadium with enough seats to allow FBS play in the future).

Dead on!!! The others would be like saying we need another hockey arena.

[star2city]

In a word, why?

Need 3000 to 3500 seats? The Betty.

Need 5000-6000 seats? Lower bowl of REA, or ...

Need 8000-9000? Alerus Center (in BB config).

Need 13000 seats for BB? REA.

A 5000-6000 seat arena seems like duplication right now, unless it's an ice rink first (which Grand Forks always seems to need another sheet).

Closing thought on this: Multiple events ... can you imagine the parking nightmares ...

However, for UND right now the greatest need is an indoor training facility (or an on-campus, domed football stadium with enough seats to allow FBS play in the future).

The greatest need for UND is an indoor training facility. But guess what? There is an arena called the Alerus with new turf that is sitting empty 95% of the time. Why not have the REA manage both the Ralph and the Alerus, consolidate staffs, use all resources more efficiently, and save everybody money. Building an indoor training facility also doesn't make anybody any money. Using the Alerus as a part-time training faciltiy saves UND capital cost of a totally new facility If the REA managed both, it's very possible that the Alerus losses would go down substantially, and neither the Ralph nor the Alerus would compete against each other for events, and UND wouldn't need to come up with the $20+million to pay for a new training facility. The Alerus needs more events: why not schedule women's soccer there in late October or a spring softball tournament in March? Why not a few UND basketball games? Drop baseball and get men's lacrosse for even more dates. Cross promote events between the REA and Alerus.

Instead of spending money on a new training facility, UND should plow that money into expanding or renovating the Alerus to make it a possible venue for FBS. If UND doesn't at least have the capability to move to FBS, it's bargaining position with any conference is limited.

The other signficant facility issue is that the Ralph has limited availability as the ice needs to be available 95% of the time for games and practice. Almost every weekend between late September and mid-March, the Ralph is needed for either men's or women's hockey. Practically every weekday, the Ralph is needed for practice. The REA simply isn't available for basketball scheduling, even if UND basketball went to a level that needed more seating. For the upcoming BB season, the dates possible for the UND-NDSU are limited to Dec 16-17, or Dec 23-24. The NHL size rink in the Ralph is also the practice venue that both the men's and women's teams need, unless they have a road game upcoming at an Olympic-size rink. Essentially, the Ralph is underutilized 80% of the time for practice. If there was a smaller adjacent arena with ice that could easily be converted to basketball, the flexiblity of the Ralph complex would be immense. Concerts could be scheduled for almost anytime, as it wouldn't interfere with hockey practice. The Ralph is actually a preferred venue for most concerts over the Fargodome or the Alerus, but the Ralph can't take advantage of that advantage because of few openings. For Grand Forks, it just needs more concerts, regardless of if they are at the Alerus or the Ralph (especially if the REA manages both).

Wisconsin is adding on to the Kohl Center with another smaller ice arena for that very reason: add flexibility to men's & women's practice schedule and add flexibility to women's hockey scheduling.

[IrishSiouxFan]

The greatest need for UND is an indoor training facility. But guess what? There is an arena called the Alerus with new turf that is sitting empty 95% of the time. Why not have the REA manage both the Ralph and the Alerus, consolidate staffs, use all resources more efficiently, and save everybody money. Building an indoor training facility also doesn't make anybody any money. Using the Alerus as a part-time training faciltiy saves UND capital cost of a totally new facility If the REA managed both, it's very possible that the Alerus losses would go down substantially, and neither the Ralph nor the Alerus would compete against each other for events, and UND wouldn't need to come up with the $20+million to pay for a new training facility. The Alerus needs more events: why not schedule women's soccer there in late October or a spring softball tournament in March? Why not a few UND basketball games? Drop baseball and get men's lacrosse for even more dates. Cross promote events between the REA and Alerus.

Instead of spending money on a new training facility, UND should plow that money into expanding or renovating the Alerus to make it a possible venue for FBS. If UND doesn't at least have the capability to move to FBS, it's bargaining position with any conference is limited.

The other signficant facility issue is that the Ralph has limited availability as the ice needs to be available 95% of the time for games and practice. Almost every weekend between late September and mid-March, the Ralph is needed for either men's or women's hockey. Practically every weekday, the Ralph is needed for practice. The REA simply isn't available for basketball scheduling, even if UND basketball went to a level that needed more seating. For the upcoming BB season, the dates possible for the UND-NDSU are limited to Dec 16-17, or Dec 23-24. The NHL size rink in the Ralph is also the practice venue that both the men's and women's teams need, unless they have a road game upcoming at an Olympic-size rink. Essentially, the Ralph is underutilized 80% of the time for practice. If there was a smaller adjacent arena with ice that could easily be converted to basketball, the flexiblity of the Ralph complex would be immense. Concerts could be scheduled for almost anytime, as it wouldn't interfere with hockey practice. The Ralph is actually a preferred venue for most concerts over the Fargodome or the Alerus, but the Ralph can't take advantage of that advantage because of few openings. For Grand Forks, it just needs more concerts, regardless of if they are at the Alerus or the Ralph (especially if the REA manages both).

Wisconsin is adding on to the Kohl Center with another smaller ice arena for that very reason: add flexibility to men's & women's practice schedule and add flexibility to women's hockey scheduling.

I would love to see the REA build a new main arena that could seat 20,000 plus people. They could use the current arena for basketball and other events. I know that this unlikely to happen but an arena that size would ensure that UND dominated the hockey attendance records every year, plus i doubt we would have trouble selling the extra tickets. Worst case scenario UND would make up to 5,000 more tickets available to students.

[bincitysioux]

The greatest need for UND is an indoor training facility. But guess what? There is an arena called the Alerus with new turf that is sitting empty 95% of the time. Why not have the REA manage both the Ralph and the Alerus, consolidate staffs, use all resources more efficiently, and save everybody money. Building an indoor training facility also doesn't make anybody any money. Using the Alerus as a part-time training faciltiy saves UND capital cost of a totally new facility If the REA managed both, it's very possible that the Alerus losses would go down substantially, and neither the Ralph nor the Alerus would compete against each other for events, and UND wouldn't need to come up with the $20+million to pay for a new training facility. The Alerus needs more events: why not schedule women's soccer there in late October or a spring softball tournament in March? Why not a few UND basketball games? Drop baseball and get men's lacrosse for even more dates. Cross promote events between the REA and Alerus.

Instead of spending money on a new training facility, UND should plow that money into expanding or renovating the Alerus to make it a possible venue for FBS. If UND doesn't at least have the capability to move to FBS, it's bargaining position with any conference is limited.

The other signficant facility issue is that the Ralph has limited availability as the ice needs to be available 95% of the time for games and practice. Almost every weekend between late September and mid-March, the Ralph is needed for either men's or women's hockey. Practically every weekday, the Ralph is needed for practice. The REA simply isn't available for basketball scheduling, even if UND basketball went to a level that needed more seating. For the upcoming BB season, the dates possible for the UND-NDSU are limited to Dec 16-17, or Dec 23-24. The NHL size rink in the Ralph is also the practice venue that both the men's and women's teams need, unless they have a road game upcoming at an Olympic-size rink. Essentially, the Ralph is underutilized 80% of the time for practice. If there was a smaller adjacent arena with ice that could easily be converted to basketball, the flexiblity of the Ralph complex would be immense. Concerts could be scheduled for almost anytime, as it wouldn't interfere with hockey practice. The Ralph is actually a preferred venue for most concerts over the Fargodome or the Alerus, but the Ralph can't take advantage of that advantage because of few openings. For Grand Forks, it just needs more concerts, regardless of if they are at the Alerus or the Ralph (especially if the REA manages both).

Wisconsin is adding on to the Kohl Center with another smaller ice arena for that very reason: add flexibility to men's & women's practice schedule and add flexibility to women's hockey scheduling.

I've often wondered why the University can't or doesn't utilize the Alerus more as a practice facility, for basketball games, and for softball games in the spring. It seems like it would be natural to do so with the arena sitting unused for what?............345 days out of the year? It seems it would make sense since the Alerus needs to make more money any way it can, and the University needs the space. I think part of it has been the stubborn mentality of the Alerus management. UND has been exploring trying to hold a softball tourney there for a few years now. Coach Strinz told me this spring that the price tag would have been $24,000..............for softball.

Question: is the Alerus large enough, to have a track in it?

[star2city]

I've often wondered why the University can't or doesn't utilize the Alerus more as a practice facility, for basketball games, and for softball games in the spring. It seems like it would be natural to do so with the arena sitting unused for what?............345 days out of the year? It seems it would make sense since the Alerus needs to make more money any way it can, and the University needs the space. I think part of it has been the stubborn mentality of the Alerus management. UND has been exploring trying to hold a softball tourney there for a few years now. Coach Strinz told me this spring that the price tag would have been $24,000..............for softball.

Question: is the Alerus large enough, to have a track in it?

No doubt UND doesn't want to spend extra rent on the Alerus. But if somehow the city could lessen it's costs by having the REA personnel operate the Alerus arena, everybody could save money and be a winner.

Even if the Alerus was only rented for November through late March - with the Alerus periodically reconfigured for trade shows or concerts, that would certainly help UND track & field, as well as soccer, softball and FB.

The Alerus could have a banked track, maybe even up to 300 m. The banked track would have to be bought ($'s), set up and taken down, unlike the surface at a training facility. But still, if the track could remain up for two weeks or more at a time, and actual indoor track meets could be hosted, there would be a lot of benefits.

[GeauxSioux]

According to SFI....

The much talked about Indoor Practice Facility seems to be gaining some steam in recent weeks. Apparently, there have been ongoing talks and negotiations with UND and Sanford Health about a large contribution to the project. There potentially could be naming rights involved in the deal and the number being thrown around is in the ballpark of 10 million dollars. This facility would be huge for UND if an announcement is imminent. It would catapult UND with some momentum into the 2012 recruiting season and beyond, as well as the start of Big Sky Conference play next season. This could also have a domino effect for other facility plans in the future. If anyone has seen the designs it will be a top-notch FBS-level facility, similar look to Nebraska or Michigan’s practice facility but with an indoor size track around it capable of holding meets.

Great news!!

[IrishSiouxFan]

According to SFI....

Great news!!

That is great news! I hope they can wrap up the details and make an announcement soon. A facility of this caliber will bring us some high end recruits, I wonder if there is going to be a drive to build a new stadium after this thing is constructed?

[darell1976]

According to SFI....

Great news!!

This could also have a domino effect for other facility plans in the future.

Could this include an upgraded Memorial Stadium??

[IrishSiouxFan]

Could this include an upgraded Memorial Stadium??

I think so, in some of the architectual renderings the practice facility has an entrance to memorial stadium.

[UND Fan]

Could this include an upgraded Memorial Stadium??

Not unless we find many more millions of $ somewhere!

[IrishSiouxFan]

Not unless we find many more millions of $ somewhere!

I think the quote was referring to a domino effect in terms of a state of the art practice facility will attract high end recruits, those recruits win games, ticket sells go through the roof, as a result UND becomes financially able to rebuild memorial stadium. This facility will be a huge advantage if we're able to get it off the ground.

[darell1976]

I think the quote was referring to a domino effect in terms of a state of the art practice facility will attract high end recruits, those recruits win games, ticket sells go through the roof, as a result UND becomes financially able to rebuild memorial stadium. This facility will be a huge advantage if we're able to get it off the ground.

Or tear down Memorial Stadium and build a whole new stadium.

[UND Fan]

I think the quote was referring to a domino effect in terms of a state of the art practice facility will attract high end recruits, those recruits win games, ticket sells go through the roof, as a result UND becomes financially able to rebuild memorial stadium. This facility will be a huge advantage if we're able to get it off the ground.

I fully agree that this is huge: the actual practice facility (for FB and many other sports), new/modern offices, etc. The drawings look like it will be done "right". After the announcement, I hope they ask for contributions to be used for "bells & whistles". I am sure that the excitement would prompt many fans and alums to write checks!

[UNDvince97-01]

I think the quote was referring to a domino effect in terms of a state of the art practice facility will attract high end recruits, those recruits win games, ticket sells go through the roof, as a result UND becomes financially able to rebuild memorial stadium. This facility will be a huge advantage if we're able to get it off the ground.

I agree. If they could just get that indoor facility done, the excitement it would build could have a positive effect on fundraising for other "phases" of the master facilities plan. One thing is for sure - Memorial Stadium MUST get a facelift on the inside in the near future. Coach's offices, meeting rooms, locker rooms and weight room all need attention quickly and this is one reason we lose potential recruits to other schools. We are lacking and behind in that aspect.

UND's football future is not at the Alerus. Planning for the future should be done with getting football back on campus in mind. Getting the IPF done is the first step in that process. The obvious long-term pipe dream right now is to eventually build a new stadium on campus to tie in the IPF.

Baby steps. Step 1 is the IPF. Lets get it done.

"Checks please!"

[UNDColorado]

Most of you are spot on in that the training facility is an immediate need and if done correctly will allow us to land higher end recruits, which in turn will create the domino effect. Add in some winning seasons starting now and I believe that the dominos will be lined up for a donor(s) to step in and make a new football stadium a reality.

I also believe that we are finally moving in the overall right direction (other than the nickname nightmare). I say finally because when I attended the U from 03 - 07 I was always finding myself wondering how we got by with such below average facilities (REA excluded). The AL is fine for now but they had to know that we would out grow it with an imminent move to D1; and who designs is without future expansion in mind?. The soccer field is such a joke that I actually lied to one of my friends visiting for the weekend and told them that they just practiced there when they asked me about it. Realistically this is a top tier public university but for some reason a lot of people think that since we are lil old Nodak that we should be ok with average and that is so not true! This is the University of North Dakota and not the U of Grand Forks and I am happy that we are finally seeing the bigger picture and we belong competing against teams like Montana; and not SCSU or U of Mary. In the end we will need a bigger stadium and people like me will certainly make yearly trips back home to catch a football game; but it all begins with the Big Sky and the training facility!

[IrishSiouxFan]

Most of you are spot on in that the training facility is an immediate need and if done correctly will allow us to land higher end recruits, which in turn will create the domino effect. Add in some winning seasons starting now and I believe that the dominos will be lined up for a donor(s) to step in and make a new football stadium a reality.

I also believe that we are finally moving in the overall right direction (other than the nickname nightmare). I say finally because when I attended the U from 03 - 07 I was always finding myself wondering how we got by with such below average facilities (REA excluded). The AL is fine for now but they had to know that we would out grow it with an imminent move to D1; and who designs is without future expansion in mind?. The soccer field is such a joke that I actually lied to one of my friends visiting for the weekend and told them that they just practiced there when they asked me about it. Realistically this is a top tier public university but for some reason a lot of people think that since we are lil old Nodak that we should be ok with average and that is so not true! This is the University of North Dakota and not the U of Grand Forks and I am happy that we are finally seeing the bigger picture and we belong competing against teams like Montana; and not SCSU or U of Mary. In the end we will need a bigger stadium and people like me will certainly make yearly trips back home to catch a football game; but it all begins with the Big Sky and the training facility!

I agree, football has to come back to campus! Whoever designed the Alerus should be ashamed of themselves for creating a $100 million facility with a 20 year shelf life. Any architecht with half a brain would have designed something that could anticipate and accommodate the growth of the football program. Instead we are stuck with the limitations of a building that will not help us reach the expectations of a growing institution. We have to start thinking about renovating the Memorial Stadium and how we will generate the money to undertake such an endeavor. Also, I would like to see UND drop baseball and add lacrosse. Lacrosse seems to be getting quite a bit of exposure on ESPN and other sports network and might allow us the opportunity to be in a conference with schools like Notre Dame, Denver, Ohio State, Air Force, ect... I know there are a lot of people who would be opposed to cutting baseball but this might be a good move for the university in terms of exposure and affiliation.

[bincitysioux]

Having big aspirations is fine, but to say that North Dakota has "below average" facilities is way out of line in my book. Ask any football or basketball player about the top reasons they chose North Dakota, and I'll bet 75% of them will have the facilities in their top 3 reasons.

The Alerus may not be "FBS ready", but neither is UND...................part of the reason North Dakota moved from Memorial Stadium was because the stadium was outdated and nearing capacity on a regular basis. Neither is true of UND's current situation with have the Alerus as its home field. The Alerus is perfect for UND...........an up-to-date, TV ready, spacious, climate controlled environment for the fair-weather fans that patronize UND football games in order to pass the time until hockey season starts.........if you are bummed about the atmosphere at the Alerus, I think you'll be severely disappointed if UND moves back outdoors to a modified 20,000+ seat Memorial Stadium.

As for the Betty, I'd rather have 3,000 people in 3,000 seats than have 3,000 people in 6,000 seats.

Agree the soccer field sucks, but it is just soccer.............

Baseball should be dropped. Won't happen since UND has invested in Kraft field.

Back on topic.............great news about the Indoor Practice Facility. I hope it still includes plans for the indoor track....................UND's track and field facilities are the real joke around here...............

[UNDColorado]

Having big aspirations is fine, but to say that North Dakota has "below average" facilities is way out of line in my book. Ask any football or basketball player about the top reasons they chose North Dakota, and I'll bet 75% of them will have the facilities in their top 3 reasons.

The Alerus may not be "FBS ready", but neither is UND...................part of the reason North Dakota moved from Memorial Stadium was because the stadium was outdated and nearing capacity on a regular basis. Neither is true of UND's current situation with have the Alerus as its home field. The Alerus is perfect for UND...........an up-to-date, TV ready, spacious, climate controlled environment for the fair-weather fans that patronize UND football games in order to pass the time until hockey season starts.........if you are bummed about the atmosphere at the Alerus, I think you'll be severely disappointed if UND moves back outdoors to a modified 20,000+ seat Memorial Stadium.

As for the Betty, I'd rather have 3,000 people in 3,000 seats than have 3,000 people in 6,000 seats.

Agree the soccer field sucks, but it is just soccer.............

Baseball should be dropped. Won't happen since UND has invested in Kraft field.

Back on topic.............great news about the Indoor Practice Facility. I hope it still includes plans for the indoor track....................UND's track and field facilities are the real joke around here...............

That may have been true when we were a top tier D2 university but you really missed my points. I said that the AL is fine for NOW; but not the near future. You also missed my point that the Big Sky conference will play a major part to this and I guarantee that attendance will pick up because i know first hand a lot of Grand Forks falls in the fair weather fan category; I went to school and worked there after and I was at the Cal Poly game in 09 when nobody showed up. My point was that with the Big Sky and a new training facility we will be well on our way to becoming a top tier D1 school; where we should have been 20 years ago. I wish we wouldn't have waited so long to make the jump but !@$! happens. BTW we also do lose a lot of recruits because of our facilities (hockey excluded). Thankfully we are moving in the right direction and that is what matters!

[the green team]

Completely agree with you Bin. I find the Alerus to be just fine & to be honest a very good facility compared to what others have at the FCS level. There are so many on here saying that we are going to outgrow the Alerus in the "near" future. What is that? 5 years, 10, 15 or 20. I'm guessing it's closer to 15, minimum. We have a long ways to go with building a winning program at this level and our fanbase before the Alerus can't hold all the fans that want to see Sioux Football. The "we have to have a stadium on campus" argument just doesn't resonate with me, because it's really not that far off campus. It's easy to get to. When we were winning in the D2 days the students found a way to get there. When the fans come, the Alerus is a great atmosphere- when they don't it's not. That would be true for any new campus stadium too. Again, I remember some of those late fall games at Memorial, playoffs on the line or factoring in and I knew nearly everyone there---there were that few of us there. I happen to believe that the older part of our fan base really appreciates having the ability to go see the game in pristine conditions in late October & November. I wouldn't consider myself to be in the blue hair category but I know I really appreciate it. I also don't think that the Alerus is losing us recruits. If we get even better practice facilities combine that with a raucous crowd at the Alerus on game days and top players will want to play here.

[iramurphy]

Most of you are spot on in that the training facility is an immediate need and if done correctly will allow us to land higher end recruits, which in turn will create the domino effect. Add in some winning seasons starting now and I believe that the dominos will be lined up for a donor(s) to step in and make a new football stadium a reality.

I also believe that we are finally moving in the overall right direction (other than the nickname nightmare). I say finally because when I attended the U from 03 - 07 I was always finding myself wondering how we got by with such below average facilities (REA excluded). The AL is fine for now but they had to know that we would out grow it with an imminent move to D1; and who designs is without future expansion in mind?. The soccer field is such a joke that I actually lied to one of my friends visiting for the weekend and told them that they just practiced there when they asked me about it. Realistically this is a top tier public university but for some reason a lot of people think that since we are lil old Nodak that we should be ok with average and that is so not true! This is the University of North Dakota and not the U of Grand Forks and I am happy that we are finally seeing the bigger picture and we belong competing against teams like Montana; and not SCSU or U of Mary. In the end we will need a bigger stadium and people like me will certainly make yearly trips back home to catch a football game; but it all begins with the Big Sky and the training facility!

Training facility is now a reality. Not sure about one or two phase but watch for news in next month. Hopefully will be able to break ground this fall but haven't heard. There will be no facilities in the area better for FCS level FB and UND will have facilities to rival many FBS teams.

[dmksioux]

Training facility is now a reality. Not sure about one or two phase but watch for news in next month. Hopefully will be able to break ground this fall but haven't heard. There will be no facilities in the area better for FCS level FB and UND will have facilities to rival many FBS teams.

That's great to hear, can't wait for the news to be made public. Do you know if it's being funded solely by Sanford or are there other players involved?

[star2city]

Having big aspirations is fine, but to say that North Dakota has "below average" facilities is way out of line in my book. Ask any football or basketball player about the top reasons they chose North Dakota, and I'll bet 75% of them will have the facilities in their top 3 reasons.

The Alerus may not be "FBS ready", but neither is UND...................part of the reason North Dakota moved from Memorial Stadium was because the stadium was outdated and nearing capacity on a regular basis. Neither is true of UND's current situation with have the Alerus as its home field. The Alerus is perfect for UND...........an up-to-date, TV ready, spacious, climate controlled environment for the fair-weather fans that patronize UND football games in order to pass the time until hockey season starts.........if you are bummed about the atmosphere at the Alerus, I think you'll be severely disappointed if UND moves back outdoors to a modified 20,000+ seat Memorial Stadium.

As for the Betty, I'd rather have 3,000 people in 3,000 seats than have 3,000 people in 6,000 seats.

Agree the soccer field sucks, but it is just soccer.............

Baseball should be dropped. Won't happen since UND has invested in Kraft field.

Back on topic.............great news about the Indoor Practice Facility. I hope it still includes plans for the indoor track....................UND's track and field facilities are the real joke around here...............

Most schools don't spend squat on women's soccer or softball facilities. At least the women's soccer team actually has locker, training, and study rooms in the Betty, which is top-of-the-line.

Where UND really needs to pick it up is for support facilities (locker, training, study, weight) for any squad using the Memorial Stadium or Hyslop as its main facility.

It used to be that UND football could easily out-recruit SDSU, as SDSU's stadium and facilities were a major anchor around their ability to recruit. Even though SDSU still has their stadium, SDSU was also wise enough to build its Dykhouse Student Center, which finally gave SDSU football something comparatively attractive for recruits.

NDSU spent a bunch of borrowed money to remodel parts of the Fargodome into first class offices and meeting rooms. When recruits compare UND's football office / training situation to SDSU or NDSU's, the comparison definitely hurts recruiting. By turning that facility situation around, UND can again gain the recruits it desires in the region.

If UND gets its own training facility, Bisonville will be shi**ing bricks, especially considering that bison fans have been waiting 10 long agonizing years for anything to happen with the BSA, and still nothing is done. If Moorhead State can actually get their hockey fundraising done, and the BSA still sits lanquishing, that will speak volumes about how important hockey is in Fargo-Moorhead relative to basketball.

[johnson]

Most schools don't spend squat on women's soccer or softball facilities. At least the women's soccer team actually has locker, training, and study rooms in the Betty, which is top-of-the-line.

Where UND really needs to pick it up is for support facilities (locker, training, study, weight) for any squad using the Memorial Stadium or Hyslop as its main facility.

It used to be that UND football could easily out-recruit SDSU, as SDSU's stadium and facilities were a major anchor around their ability to recruit. Even though SDSU still has their stadium, SDSU was also wise enough to build its Dykhouse Student Center, which finally gave SDSU football something comparatively attractive for recruits.

NDSU spent a bunch of borrowed money to remodel parts of the Fargodome into first class offices and meeting rooms. When recruits compare UND's football office / training situation to SDSU or NDSU's, the comparison definitely hurts recruiting. By turning that facility situation around, UND can again gain the recruits it desires in the region.

If UND gets its own training facility, Bisonville will be shi**ing bricks, especially considering that bison fans have been waiting 10 long agonizing years for anything to happen with the BSA, and still nothing is done. If Moorhead State can actually get their hockey fundraising done, and the BSA still sits lanquishing, that will speak volumes about how important hockey is in Fargo-Moorhead relative to basketball.

NDSU's football offices were paid for with money donated specifically for that purpose. I believe the family that donated the money has there name on it.

[star2city]

NDSU's football offices were paid for with money donated specifically for that purpose. I believe the family that donated the money has there name on it.

Not entirely true- according to NDSU documents

The NDSU football offices /locker rooms etc in the Fargodome cost $3.4 million to install. The Sunderland family donated $1.5 million, while much of the rest was borrowed from the NDSU Foundation. NDSU athletics may still "owe" the $1.9 million + interest on the project, as the project was fast-tracked to approval without all the $'s raised. The state almost certainly won't allow a partially funded project like that that one anymore, thanks to the Chapman house fiasco.

[GeauxSioux]

From SFI.....

There continues to be much talk about the Indoor Practice Facility coming to fruition soon. It seems an announcement of some sort is imminent. There are definitely some recruits in the area that would be interested in knowing the facility is going to be built. Also, it won