Fargo Dome Authority - August 25, 2026 Minutes
MINUTES OF THE FARGO DOME AUTHORITY MEETING
A regular meeting of the Fargo Dome Authority was held on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 at 3:30 p.m. in the FARGODOME Administrative Conference Room with President Rick Steen presiding.
Members present: Rick Steen, David Suppes, Blake Nelson, Todd Olson, Troy Goergen, Dan Armbrust and Michael Ellingson.
Members absent:
Others present: Tyler Haehn – City of Fargo; Zach Prante, Accounting Manager – FARGODOME; Sarah Dykema, Director of Marketing and Sales – FARGODOME; Bernie Larson, Assistant General Manager - FARGODOME; Kacie Erickson – Director of Food & Beverage – FARGODOME; Amanda Muellenbach, Director of Administration – FARGODOME and Rob Sobolik, General Manager – FARGODOME.
Media present: None
President Rick Steen called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
Dan Armbrust made a motion, seconded by Mike Ellingson, to approve the agenda of the August 25, 2026 Fargo Dome Authority meeting as presented. Motion carried.
David Suppes made a motion, seconded by Todd Olson, to approve the minutes from the July 28, 2026 Fargo Dome Authority meeting. Motion carried.
Rob Sobolik presented the General Manager’s report as follows:
• Year-to-Date Net Income through July 2026 is stated at $219,783, which is a positive variance (to budget) of $207,235.
• Past and Upcoming Events: Fiber Arts Festival on August 1-2, 2026. United Way School Supply Drive on August 3-14, 2026. Shinedown on August 20, 2026. NDSU Football vs. Jacksonville State on August 29, 2026. NDSU Football vs. Fordham on September 5, 2026. Foo Fighters on September 12, 2026. NDSU Fall Career Expo on September 23. Lisbon Youth Football on September 27, 2026.
• Rob reported that FARGODOME and COF staff had a meeting with Xcel energy to review the current agreement and discuss efficiencies with curtailment dates. This item will be further discussed at upcoming meetings.
Blake Nelson presented the Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committee report. The Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committees met on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. Items discussed included:
• July 2026 Financial Statements: The July 2026 Financial Statements were approved by the Finance Committee at the meeting on August 19, 2026.
• Project and Capital Budget Updates:
o Operations Expenses – It was noted that FARGODOME recently purchased $28,000 of fuel for the building generator. There was also an emergency repair to a coil in the generator that will cost around $15,000-$17,000.
FARGODOME staff is working with COF Public Works to review the current agreement with Xcel Energy to ensure efficiencies, specifically with curtailment dates.
o Moore Engineering is continuing work on the parking lot studies. The money for parking lot repairs is in the 2027 budget. It was noted that there is some additional money in the 2026 budget that will be used to have COF Public Works come out to overlay some of parking lot C.
o LED Lighting/Concourse Signage Project Update – The Lighting/Concourse Signage project is in the bid process. The electrical and general contractor bids are due on Thursday, August 27, 2026. Daktronics will be replacing the video walls, TV monitors and the existing control system through a Sourcewell contract purchase. Gopher Stage Lighting will also be doing work with the control system through an exempt or Sourcewell contract purchase. FARGODOME will prepare documents once costs come in from Daktronics and Gopher Stage Lighting and will present those to the Fargo Dome Authority committees, COF FAHR Committee and City Commission for approval. The committees reviewed a slideshow of the proposed lighting and signage project.
Since the Building and Finance Committees met, Daktronics has provided updated cost estimates ranging from $1,170,000 to $1,300,000. The final cost will depend on whether LCD or LED lighting is selected for the video walls.
• Escrow Balance & Performance Reports: The Finance Committee reviewed the FARGODOME permanent fund report, year-to-date, through May 2026. Please see attachments.
Blake Nelson made a motion, seconded by Mike Ellingson, to approve the Building and Finance Committee report as presented.
On call of the roll, Armbrust, Ellingson, Goergen, Nelson, Olson, Steen and Suppes voted aye.
Absent and not voting:
The motion was declared carried.
The next Fargo Dome Authority meeting will be on September 29, 2026 at 3:30 p.m.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:51 p.m.
Rick Steen, President
Amanda Muellenbach, Director of Administration