One year later people who are in charge of things modified their planning but did not expand them. There are now two proposals on the upcoming election ballot related to renovation of the Dome and the construction of a convention center which had been mashed into a single option last year.
The renovation will add a tax for the next 20 years while the construction will go five years beyond that and will happen "at a location within the city of Fargo to be determined through a request for proposal process to be established by the governing body of the city" (page 2, section 4).
Forgive me for being skeptical but I can't shake the feeling that the splitting of the items is an attempt to run around the rejection of a the plan last November. If they get the sufficient vote count for even just the second option then they may disregard what's in the best interest of Fargo beyond the next five to 10 years and just ram the Dome down our throats for the next 20+ years.
And if any money goes into the Red Rock then it will be at least 20 years before the community, region and state get something which can attract bigger events all year long. A lot of people think of the Dome for just the nine or so Saturday's that it hosts football games.
It's used for so much more than that even as it currently is.
Imagine which bands, which events might come through if there was a place that more accurately matched the massive growth which Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo, Horace, all the other nearby communities have experienced in the 30 years since the doors opened.
Of course it would be exponentially more to develop and construct a 30,000 seat, expandable facility but our area has several of the biggest and best things in North Dakota and most of Northern Minnesota. So some people are thinking bigger, but replacing the Dome has not yet become an equal priority.
Another failed bill attempt may not sway that but it takes several pushes to move a boulder. Making genuine progress which will benefit every person who lives in and around this area shouldn't be a boulder but to date has been.
Even so, I implore you to think bigger as you take the ballot and cast your votes about these particular issues. It's about more than now or five years from now, the choice is about what you want for the greater Fargo area for the next 20 years and possibly longer than that!
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