Madison Central School Board approves use agreement with DSU for new athletics facilities

The Madison Central School Board has approved a 30-year agreement with Dakota State University regarding the use of the university’s proposed new athletics facilities project.  Board members approved a facility use agreement between Dakota State, the DSU Foundation and the school district during their meeting on Monday.

Superintendent Joel Jorgenson said that entering into this agreement is a great opportunity for the district and will save money in the future.

The agreement approved by the school board Monday is effective July 1st of 2023 for a thirty-year period.  The agreement states that DSU agrees to provide the Madison Central School District usage of DSU’s football field and outdoor track facilities and payments will be made from the district directly to the DSU Foundation. 

DSU presented a proposal for a continued partnership with the district for the new facilities during the board’s August meeting.  In September, Superintendent Jorgenson told board members that he would like to see the district pursue the opportunity.  

According to the agreement, the annual payments the district will make for the first five years will be close to 96-thousand dollars, and the amount of the annual payment decreases by five thousand dollars after every five years for the duration of the agreement.  Board president Tom Farrell explained where the money will come from for the payments.

DSU officials said Monday that the project is moving forward and they expect construction in some form to start sometime in 2022.

More information on the DSU Athletics Master Plan can be found here.