Fargo Dome Authority - June 29, 2021 Minutes

A regular meeting of the Fargo Dome Authority was held on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. in the FARGODOME Administrative Conference Room with President Blake Nelson presiding.

Members present: President Blake Nelson, Troy Goergen, David Suppes, Michael Ellingson, Nancy Jordheim (via phone) and Rick Steen.

Members absent: Dan Armbrust

Others present: Brian Johnson – Berkshire Hathaway Home Services; Zach Howatt – City of Fargo; Ryan Green – City of Fargo; Sarah Dykema, Director of Sales and Marketing – FARGODOME; Amanda Muellenbach, Administrative and Auxiliary Services Manager – FARGODOME; Bernie Larson, Assistant General Manager – FARGODOME; Susan Thompson, Director of Finance – FARGODOME and Rob Sobolik, General Manager – FARGODOME.

Media present: None

President Blake Nelson called the meeting to order at 3:31 p.m.

Rob requested to add a review of the 3rd amended Verizon in-house antenna system agreement.

Mike Ellingson made a motion, seconded by David Suppes, to approve the agenda of the June 29, 2021 Fargo Dome Authority meeting as amended. Motion carried.

Rick Steen made a motion, seconded by Troy Goergen, to approve the minutes from the May 25, 2021 Fargo Dome Authority meeting. Motion carried.

Rob Sobolik presented the General Manager’s report as follows:
• Year-to-Date Net Income through May 2021 is stated at -$611,878 which is a negative variance (to budget) of $591,561.
• Upon review, Rick Steen made a motion, seconded by David Suppes, to approve the May 2021 financial statements as presented.
On call of the roll, Ellingson, Goergen, Jordheim, Nelson, Steen and Suppes voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Armbrust. The motion was declared carried.
• Past and Upcoming Events: Fargo Public High School Graduations was held June 6, 2021. Happy Harry’s RibFest was held June 9-12, 2021. NDSU Football Youth Camp was held June 15-17, 2021. NDSU Football Individual Camp was held June 18-20, 2021 and June 25-27, 2021. USA Wrestling will be held July 16-23, 2021.

Rick Steen presented the Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committee report. The Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committees met on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Items discussed included:

• May 2021 Financial Statements: The May 2021 Financial Statements were reviewed by the Finance Committee at the meeting on June 23, 2021.
• Project Updates:
o Dressing Room/Catering Room Remodel - The project is nearing final completion.
o Canopy Project – This project has started. Completion date is estimated for end of July.
o Catering – FARGODOME is in the process of updating the catering kitchen area in order to begin providing some in-house catering.
• Escrow Balance & Performance Reports: The FARGODOME permanent fund performance, year-to-date, through April 2021 is 19.87%. Please see attachments.
• Additional Items:
o Shuttered Venue Grant – The SBA has started to award applicants of the Shuttered Venue Grant. Rob anticipates FARGODOME’s application to be further reviewed by the end of July.
o Department of Commerce Grant – FARGODOME was awarded $100,000 through the Department of Commerce Economic Resiliency Grant.
o ND Department of Emergency Services – FARGODOME has applied for a grant through the ND Department of Emergency Services to be used for cameras and keyless entry upgrades. At this time, the state has approved
$98,000 and it will be sent to the Federal Government for final approval.
o NDSU Contract – The NDSU Operating Lease Agreement was being reviewed by NDSU. It will be a one-year extension of the current agreement with some alternate language regarding options for alcohol sales in the future. Since the Building and Finance Committee meeting, the agreement has been signed and returned.
o RibFest – Rob provided a brief overview of RibFest. Overall, the festival went well and the feedback was positive.
• Ticketing Contract – Susan has received the contract addendum back from Paciolan. The addendum addresses events that go on sale between now and December 31, 2021 when Paciolan’s contract expires. If an event goes on sale in 2021 and is happening in 2021, it will be with Paciolan. If an event goes on sale in 2021 and is happening in 2022 or later, it will be with Ticketmaster. The only exception to this is Elton John, which is already on sale and will happen in March of 2022.

Rick Steen made a motion to approve the Building and Finance Committee report as presented.
On call of the roll, Ellingson, Goergen, Jordheim, Nelson, Steen and Suppes voted aye. Absent and not voting: Armbrust.
The motion was declared carried.

Additional Items:
• Amended Verizon In-house Antenna System Agreement – Verizon has requested to amend the Verizon In-house Antenna System agreement with FARGODOME to upgrade the existing digital antenna system and extend the agreement through 2029.
David Suppes made a motion, seconded by Mike Ellingson, to approve the amended Verizon In-house Antenna System agreement.

On call of the roll, Ellingson, Goergen, Jordheim, Nelson, Steen and Suppes voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Armbrust. The motion was declared carried.

The next Fargo Dome Authority meeting will be on July 27, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:49 p.m.