FARGO – Fargodome officials on Tuesday approved alcohol sales at North Dakota State University football games to all patrons of legal age, a decision that will go to university and city officials for review.

Only one member of the seven-person Fargo Dome Authority, Nancy Jordheim, voted to keep the current policy, which bans alcohol sales at NDSU events.

"This is not anything that I feel is a responsible thing, as an adult, to encourage in the Dome," she said.

Discussions about alcohol sales at Bison games have been going on for over a month, with debates over who should get access to beer, where it should be sold, and at what times.

With Tuesday's vote, board members established their position: alcohol should be available for sale both in expensive, private suites, as well as in a beer garden that would be accessible to everyone else of legal drinking age.

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Board President John Q. Paulsen said it would be wrong to allow alcohol only in suites.

"If we're going to make it available to those in the suites, we should have an obligation to provide some ... for members of the general public," he said.

According to the board's plan, alcohol would not be permitted in the stands. Drinkers would need to stay in the beer garden.

That puzzled Darrell Vanyo, a board member, who wondered "why anyone would want to go in a beer garden and sit" during the game. At halftime, the beer garden was sure to be "jam-packed," he said.

"I don't understand why it has to be only in a beer garden," he said, without saying that he supported allowing beer in the stands.

There seemed to be little support for allowing patrons to drink their beers in the seats. Paulsen said he had talked with NDSU President Dean Bresciani, who "did express really strong opposition to alcohol in the seats of the stadium."

Details were few on what the beer garden might look like. Fargodome General Manager Rob Sobolik said it could possibly be on the north side of the building, underneath the north canopy, or potentially in the media room areas upstairs. The beer garden would be a controlled area off-concourse.

The Fargodome allows alcohol sales at various events, including concerts and theater performances, Sobolik noted.

"We have it available at, quite honestly, family shows," he said. Still, he was not sure if allowing alcohol at Bison games was a good idea. Asked if he thought the plan would be successful, he said, "It depends."

A contract between NDSU and the Fargodome will need to be amended to allow for the proposed change. City Commissioners and the chancellor of the North Dakota University System would also need to sign off. If all goes smoothly, alcohol could be allowed in the suites when the fall football season arrives.

Figuring out the beer garden would take longer, said Sobolik.

But Vanyo and David Suppes, another board member, asked Sobolik to be quick.

"We don't need to be perfect to have something operating," Vanyo said.