Tourism advocates say Fargo is missing out by not having dedicated convention center space

Oct. 24—FARGO — The list of opportunities lost is long: conventions that would separately have drawn large numbers of nurses, musicians, politicians, firefighters, rodeo riders, mortgage brokers, teachers and truckers, to name a few.

Charley Johnson, president of the Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that's a representation of groups in recent years that have requested to hold their convention or event here, only to learn they could not be accommodated.

The problem, Johnson maintains, is that the metro doesn't have large enough meeting spaces, exhibit spaces or combinations of the two required for the competitive convention industry.

Instead, many sought-after events are going to Bismarck and Grand Forks, and to cities in South Dakota and Minnesota like Sioux Falls, St. Cloud, Mankato, Duluth and Rochester.

"That's the kind of competition we're talking about not being able to deal with," Johnson said.

The playing field would change if voters approve a Fargodome expansion and remodeling project, which includes a new convention center.

On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the city will hold a special election to ask voters whether they support a quarter-percent sales tax increase and a 3% jump in the city's lodging tax to fund the estimated $140 million project. Both taxes would be in place for 20 years.

If approved, the city would build a 90,000-square-foot Fargodome expansion on the south end of the facility along with the remodel.

The convention center would have a 45,000-square-foot space that could be divided, comparable to a 50,000-square-foot ballroom at the Sioux Falls Convention Center, Johnson said.

New events aren't the only ones being turned down due to lack of appropriate space.

Organizations that held conventions in Fargo previously have outgrown spaces in the metro and moved on, while others are on the brink of doing the same, he said, meaning revenue that could pour into the local economy will go elsewhere.

Examples include the North Dakota Safety Council and Tri-State Aerial Applicators conventions.

Another is the North Dakota Association of Counties, or NDACo, convention attended by some 800 people this year at the Bismarck Event Center.

Aaron Birst, executive director of NDACo, said while he won't wade into the debate over new sales and lodging taxes, he can validate concerns about convention space in Fargo.

The group's annual convention requires space for vendors to display large equipment, such as motor graders and sanding trucks.

Expanded in 2015, a 100,000-square-foot-plus exhibit hall in the Bismarck facility meets that need, Birst said.

Does it mean the group would consider moving the convention to Fargo if it had the appropriate space? Birst said he's not sure because other factors, like Bismarck's central location, also play a role.

Johnson has "worked us hard" in an effort to attract the event, Birst said.

Another large event the Bismarck Event Center hosted was the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders fall conference on Oct. 19-20, with an in-person attendance of 500 school administrators, teachers, instructional staff, counselors and social workers.

The event is the reason school districts across the state cleared their calendars on those days.

The Fargodome is a "huge" facility, Johnson said, but simply adding up its spaces can be misleading. The 80,000-square-foot arena inside is great for football, but the floor cannot be divided into multiple spaces for conventions, he said.

Rob Sobolik, general manager of the Fargodome, agreed.

"Just because we have the space doesn't mean it's what groups want," he said.

Most organizations would prefer between 20,000 and 40,000 square feet of carpeted space with lower ceilings, not on a football field, he added.

The Fargodome has a 10,268-square-foot ballroom that can be divided and an additional 3,100 square feet of other meeting space.

But 80 miles north, the Alerus Center in Grand Forks has nearly triple that number when totaling those two categories.

In addition to its comparable football arena, the Alerus boasts a 25,588-square-foot ballroom that can be divided and another 11,400 square feet of meeting room space in a wing connected to the Canad Inn.

By contrast, the largest ballroom in the F-M metro is 15,000 square feet, located at the Delta by Marriott.

Other facilities in the region with significantly more convention space include the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, with a 38,586-square-foot ballroom and 25,000-square-foot exhibit space and the River's Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud with a 60,000-square-foot exhibit hall and 16,000-square-foot ballroom.

Johnson said current F-M area facilities are great for hosting 300- to 400-person conferences that don't need much exhibit space, but there are many other, far larger events that are being missed.

If the Fargodome project were approved and the convention center built, he said, it could accommodate 85% to 90% of the groups that have said they'd come to Fargo if it had the appropriate spaces.

The renovation portion of the Fargodome project would cost between $76 million and $94 million, while the convention center addition would cost around $45 million.

The project would be paid for with $30 million from the Fargodome's savings account, along with the proposed quarter-percent sales tax and 3% lodging or hotel room tax increase.

People may wonder what's in it for them, Johnson said, but the benefit to the broader community is significant.

For conventions, a single "room night" amounts to around $200 of direct visitor spending per person, conservatively speaking, he said, money that's being spent at hotels, restaurants, retail shopping and attractions.

A convention with two-night stays for 1,000 people could put $400,000 into the local economy, benefiting even those with no direct involvement in those businesses, he said.

"That ultimately ends up, one way or another, in the pockets of a lot of the people who live here," Johnson said.

The F-M area does very well at attracting visitors for sporting events, he said, resulting in more than $30 million in direct visitor spending to the community in 2022, the Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated.

In contrast, conventions and other similar business events brought in around $11 million in direct visitor spending for the same time period.

"It's just because we're limited," Johnson said. "We could have this place humming on both cylinders."

Sobolik said the sporting, entertainment and convention industries have evolved a great deal since the Fargodome first opened in 1992.

The facility has been able to adapt in the first two areas but not in terms of convention space, he said, resulting in a lot of lost economic activity.

Sobolik encourages every eligible voter to vote on Dec. 5, when polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Residents may cast a ballot at any one of three polling locations: Ramada Inn at 3333 13th Ave. S., the Fargodome at 1800 N. University Drive and the Civic Memorial Auditorium at 207 Fourth St. N.

Absentee ballots are available

for those who are unable or choose not to vote in person.