Fargo Dome Authority - May 26, 2026 Minutes
MINUTES OF THE FARGO DOME AUTHORITY MEETING
A regular meeting of the Fargo Dome Authority was held on Tuesday, May 26, 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, Michael Ellingson (via phone), Todd Olson and Dan Armbrust (via phone).
Members absent: Troy Goergen
Others present: Tyler Haehn – City of Fargo; Sarah Dykema – Director of Marketing and Sales – FARGODOME; Kacie Erickson – Director of Food & Beverage – FARGODOME; Amanda Muellenbach, Director of Administration – FARGODOME; Bernie Larson, Assistant General Manager – FARGODOME and Rob Sobolik, General Manager – FARGODOME.
Media present: None
President Rick Steen called the meeting to order at 3:33 p.m.
David Suppes made a motion, seconded by Blake Nelson, to approve the agenda of the May 26, 2026 Fargo Dome Authority meeting as presented. Motion carried.
Todd Olson made a motion, seconded by David Suppes, to approve the minutes from the April 28, 2026 Fargo Dome Authority meeting. Motion carried.
Rob Sobolik presented the General Manager’s report as follows:
• Year-to-Date Net Income through April 2026 is stated at $552,684, which is a positive variance (to budget) of $162,730.
• Past and Upcoming Events: NDSU Spring Commencement on May 16, 2026. Fargo Marathon Expo and Packet Pickup on May 28-29, 2026. RibFest on June 3-6, 2026. Fargo Public Schools Graduation on June 7, 2026. Matt Rife on June 13, 2026.
Blake Nelson presented the Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committee report. The Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committees met on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Items discussed included:
• 2027 Budget: The 2027 Operating Budget was approved by the Finance Committee at the meeting on May 20, 2026.
David Suppes made a motion, seconded by Todd Olson, to approve the 2027 Operating Budget as presented.
On call of the roll, Armbrust, Ellingson, Nelson, Olson, Steen and Suppes voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Goergen
The motion was declared carried.
• 2027 Capital Budget: The 2027 Capital Budget, along with a review of the 2026 Capital Budget (including prior year’s carryover) that included a request to re-allocate the balance of FD2614 – ½ Ton Rigging Motor Chain Replacement ($50,000) to create FD2619 – Dante Control Cards for Arena Sound Amps
($30,000) and FD 2620 – Electric Pallet Jack ($20,000) was approved by the Finance and Building Committees at the meeting on May 20, 2026.
Upon review and further discussion, Rick proposed to add $3M to the 2027 Capital Budget to create FD2718 – Parking Lot Renovations, brining the total 2027 Capital Budget to $7,155,073.
David Suppes made a motion, seconded by Michael Ellingson, to approve the 2027 Capital Budget, as amended, as well as the re-allocation request for the 2026 capital budget.
On call of the roll, Armbrust, Ellingson, Nelson, Olson, Steen and Suppes voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Goergen
The motion was declared carried.
• April 2026 Financial Statements: The April 2026 Financial Statements were approved by the Finance Committee at the meeting on May 20, 2026.
Blake Nelson made a motion, seconded by Todd Olson, to approve the April 2026 Financial Statements as presented.
On call of the roll, Armbrust, Ellingson, Nelson, Olson, Steen and Suppes voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Goergen
The motion was declared carried.
• Project and Capital Budget Updates:
o Moore Engineering has completed the survey of FARGODOME parking lots and is in the process of putting the results together. FARGODOME staff has been working with City of Fargo Engineering to determine storm/sewer retention needs for the project. Preliminary discussions indicate that this will not be a major part of the project, if nothing is being changed underground.
o Replacement of the football turf is tentatively being scheduled for 2027.
o The City FAHR Committee approved fixing the SE corner sidewalk at FARGODOME at a cost of $82,000 to be paid for out of the FARGODOME Capital Fund. Work on this project will happen over the summer and should be completed prior to the NDSU Football season.
• Escrow Balance & Performance Reports: The FARGODOME permanent fund performance, year-to-date, through February 2026 is 12.28%. Please see attachments.
Blake Nelson made a motion to approve the Building and Finance Committee report as presented.
On call of the roll, Armbrust, Ellingson, Nelson, Olson, Steen and Suppes voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Goergen
The motion was declared carried.
Committee Appointments: Rick Steen appointed Michael Ellingson as chair of the Building Committee and Blake Nelson as chair of the Finance Committee.
Rick brought forward Mike Schumacher as a potential new member of the Finance Committee. Mike has over 36 years of experience in corporate finance, nonprofit leadership and organizational governance. Please see attachment. With the addition of Mike Schumacher, Rick proposed the following members for Finance Committee and Building Committee:
• Finance Committee: Blake Nelson, David Suppes, Susan Thompson, Dave Piepkorn, Rick Steen and Mike Schumacher.
• Building Committee: Dan Armbrust, Mike Ellingson, Troy Goergen, Brent DeKrey, Todd Olson and Bruce Grubb.
David Suppes made a motion, seconded by Todd Olson, to accept the committee assignments as presented.
On call of the roll, Armbrust, Ellingson, Nelson, Olson, Steen and Suppes voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Goergen
The motion was declared carried.
The next Fargo Dome Authority meeting will be on June 30, 2026 at 3:30 p.m.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:57 p.m.
Rick Steen, President
Amanda Muellenbach, Director of Administration