Sanford Arena?

[Hammersmith]

Re: Sanford Arena?

Score board and scorers table looks a little familar, but I am not quite sure why.

Yes, they are Daktronics products. They are the boards that are currently in the BSA(purchased about 2-3 years ago) and will be kept as part of the renovation.

[goon]

Re: Sanford Arena?

Yes, they are Daktronics products. They are the boards that are currently in the BSA(purchased about 2-3 years ago) and will be kept as part of the renovation.

For those that are too lazy to look or read, how many seats will it be? On a side note, I think things would look much better in Blue.

[Hammersmith]

Re: Sanford Arena?

I know, but its not Merit care that made the deal. It sounded like they were struggling a little bit. Not sure how much of that is true, but if they did not have the financial ability before, where did Merit side get the money from in such a short time.

I think the issue with Meritcare was less about money than leadership. The Meritcare board was known for being extremely conservative when it came to making decisions. It would seemingly take forever for them to make any kind of big decision, even if it were the obvious choice. I think the speed of the recent Sanford decisions in Fargo/ND is a result of the new leadership coming in and saying, "Why the heck didn't you guys do this stuff years ago?" (With a little PR thrown in, of course.) Just my opinion, though.

[Hammersmith]

Re: Sanford Arena?

For those that are too lazy to look or read, how many seats will it be? On a side note, I think things would look much better in Blue.

5,700, with a couple hundred of those as luxury/club seats. Basically the same size as now. There was a rumor that expansion to 7,500 was possible, but it's unknown at this point if there was any truth to it.

Photo gallery of the renderings:
http://www.gobison.com/PhotoAlbum.db...&PALBID=380357

[goon]

Re: Sanford Arena?

5,700, with a couple hundred of those as luxury/club seats. Basically the same size as now. There was a rumor that expansion to 7,500 was possible, but it's unknown at this point if there was any truth to it.

Photo gallery of the renderings:
http://www.gobison.com/PhotoAlbum.db...&PALBID=380357

I like to see any where from 5k-8k. Its nice to have bigger when it calls for it. But smaller kepts demand for tickets higher and a more entimate(SP) setting.

[Prairiehaas]

Re: Sanford Arena?

Looks noisy. Seriously. That looks like it's going to be a LOUD venue.

BTW: NDSU is an ag school. How come nobody ever made friends with the good folks at John Deere? Could slap a few dozen John Deere logos on the court and nobody'd even notice.

Case manufactures in Fargo. They would notice.

[Nidaros]

Re: Sanford Arena?

It looks to be more than 5700, but trust Hammersmith knowledge. My first gut feeling was that they would remove the roof and build the walls up in order to do more seating, but apparently roof wise there will be no changes, but a complete reconfigeration of the current facility into a real neat place to watch basketball. Congradulations. Lets hope Dana Dykhouse will come through again with a Sanford gift for SDSU.

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: Sanford Arena?

It's simply PR 101. When Sanford took over the MeritCare operation, there was a lot of uneasiness and some downright mad people in Fargo over the whole deal. Kelby is not stupid...they wanted to make a very popular statement in Fargo and they have accomplished that. As far as cost, just add it to the money paid for the merger...that is the way it is justified.

[JackJD]

Re: Sanford Arena?

Actually, Goon, keep in mind Sanford "merged" (swallowed?) a significant player in Fargo that had been there a long, long time. Only guessing but it's possible all the money was on the MeritCare side of the ledger -- ND money.

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: Sanford Arena?

5,700, with a couple hundred of those as luxury/club seats. Basically the same size as now. There was a rumor that expansion to 7,500 was possible, but it's unknown at this point if there was any truth to it.

Photo gallery of the renderings:
http://www.gobison.com/PhotoAlbum.db...&PALBID=380357

Thanks for the info Hammersmith.

Are there plans to easily expand this arena? I ask because many Bison fans have talked about a desire to get into the Missouri Valley for basketball. According to wikipedia, here are the schools and attendances (edit: capacities) of the MV:

Bradley - 11433
Creighton - 17560
Drake - 7002
Evansville - 13252
Illinois St. - 10200
Indiana St. - 10200
Missouri St. - 11000
Northern Iowa - 7018
Southern Illinois - 9628
Wichita St. - 10572

Now the average attendance is a different animal at:

Creighton 16,422
Wichita State 10,478
Bradley 10,019
Illinois State 8,587
Missouri State 7,207
Evansville 6,452
Southern Illinois 5,827
Drake 5,195
Northern Iowa 4,730
Indiana State 4,427

Even so, do Bison fans worry that they might build too small and risk stepping outside the Missouri Valley blueprint? Granted, not all the Valley schools fill their arenas every game, but not having a big enough arena would theoretically leave money on the table for some games (ala USD football).

What are your thoughts?

[Nidaros]

Re: Sanford Arena?

01. When Sanford took over the MeritCare operation, there was a lot of uneasiness and some downright mad people in Fargo over the whole deal. Kelby is not stupid...they wanted to make a very popular statement in Fargo and they have accomplished that. As far as cost, just add it to the money paid for the merger...that is the way it is justified.

I trying to think but there was a real prominant citizen in Fargo who headed up a committee to undo or defeat the merger. Maybe Hammersmith can recall who I am refering too. Its all kind of settled down now though. Merit Care corporate colors were a deep maroon and white, but little by little you are starting to see blue signs, the Sanford colors. Also the 2009 flood which required some evacatuions to Sioux Falls help the merger process.

Kelby made a very generous move and will no doubt help the community relations.

[FargoBison]

Re: Sanford Arena?

Our previous mayor actually stepped forward and wanted to put the brakes on the merger at one time but when he was told about what Sanford had planned for Fargo he started singing a different tune rather quickly.

Meritcare was a huge organization up here, it was not only the biggest employer in Fargo but also in the entire state.

[Nidaros]

Re: Sanford Arena?

Ahh yes Mayor Furness, thats who I was thinking of. I recall read that the CEO of Merit Care, Gilbertson was past 65 by several years and was looking forward to retirement, and that was another factor that made this merger possible.

[goon]

Re: Sanford Arena?

Actually, Goon, keep in mind Sanford "merged" (swallowed?) a significant player in Fargo that had been there a long, long time. Only guessing but it's possible all the money was on the MeritCare side of the ledger -- ND money.

I am hoping that is the case. I don't go to sanford, but I could see how people who did, may see this as thier money going up there as part of the deal.

[tjbison]

Re: Sanford Arena?

I am hoping that is the case. I don't go to sanford, but I could see how people who did, may see this as thier money going up there as part of the deal.

Lets not forget that there is the Denny Sanford, and Sanford Health. I'm not sure but I think this is a private donation from Denny himself and not coming directly from the Health system of Meritcare/Sanford. Like I said I'm not sure but I thought thats what I had heard