North Dakota State put on a show in the team’s FBS debut, and the gameday atmosphere was a big part of it.
The 18,000-plus roaring fans in the Fargodome made it difficult for Jacksonville State in a 33-7 loss to the Bison, which wasn’t quite a sellout for the 19,000 dome. NDSU could be down 1,000 seats in the dome eventually to conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the Dome Authority could be spending $22 million in upgrades.
“The $22 million dollars represents the buildout on the West end of the facility, and if we cannot close that gap, we’d have to move forward with the projects that were listed,” Fargodome Authority Vice President David Suppes said via KVRR.
The Fargodome opened in 1993, and NDSU has been playing there since that year after playing outdoors for years at Dacotah Field on campus. Renovations have been part of the dome’s 33-year history, and now the dome’s main tenant could merit more seating than what the 19,000-seat venue provides, though that looks like a conversation for further down the road for NDSU and the city of Fargo.
NDSU Has Already Spent Big and More Could Come
Suppes mentioned a rent increase for NDSU at the dome, and the school already pays $165,000. That said, it’s change compared to what the Bison have paid to become an FBS program.
NDSU spent $120 million to upgrade athletic facilities in the years before the FBS move. The Bison then paid $5 million to the NCAA for moving up and $12.5 million to join the Mountain West Conference.
There’s also more work ahead for NDSU with NIL money, scholarships and facility renovations.
Fan Base Has ‘Something to Prove’
NDSU is expecting sellouts at the Fargodome this year after dwindling attendance during the FCS dominance. Home attendance averaged 16,048 in the final FCS season, and that included less than 11,000 fans for the playoff loss to Illinois State last year.
“Our fan base, they feel as if we have something to prove, like we belong here [in FBS] and we’re a good football program,” NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen said via Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Fischer. “I’m excited for our team, but really excited for our fan base because they’ve been side by side throughout this whole thing.”
Larsen noted geography had been a major factor in the journey to finally secure an FBS conference invitation. NDSU is 801 miles from the closest Group of Six program, Wyoming.
“I’ve always said, if North Dakota State were located in the South, we would have been FBS probably seven or eight years ago,” Larsen said. “I think the Mountain West if you talk to them, they realize it’s less about TV markets and all that stuff, but the brand is really important.”
“They recognized that in us and it’s not just a flash in the pan here. What we did in 15 years, I don’t think will ever be duplicated at any level,” Larsen added. “The consistency year in and year out, the culture, I think our legacy was we were good for FCS. I think we helped elevate the Missouri Valley Football Conference.”
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