City of Madison and DSU Enter Athletics Facility Usage Agreement

The Madison City Commission agreed to a athletics facility usage agreement, during their meeting last night, with Dakota State University. 

In the agreement, DSU agreed to provide the City usages of the university’s football field, outdoor track/soccer facility, and the events center. DSU may request payment from the City to be made to the DSU Foundation.

City Administrator Jameson Berreth said that the city did budget to have $100,000 in this year’s budget for this agreement, while also speaking more on how the city plans to use the athletic facilities.

As the university continues to expand on their athletic facilities, such as new baseball and softball fields that they are planning to build, those will also become included in the agreement. 

DSU is in the middle of building new athletic facilities, and Jon Schemmel, the CEO and President of the DSU Foundation, was able to provide updates on phase one of the project. 

Schemmel also mentioned that the track is not ready quite yet because of the quality of material they wanted and the impact of this past winter.

DSU will be responsible for the field maintenance, including mowing, irrigation, along with overseeding and weed control on grass fields. Turf fields, track surface and field event areas will also be maintained by DSU with no additional fees to City for maintenance. 

The agreement goes into effect on July 1, 2023 and will last until June 30, 2033.