The Bismarck Event Center's operator is asking the city for more exterior signage than downtown zoning normally allows, including a digital marquee on 5th Street that could operate up to 24 hours a day. Oak View Group, which manages the city-owned center at 315 S. 5th St., brought its master sign plan (case DDR2026-003) to the Renaissance Zone Authority, acting as the downtown design review committee, on Oct. 8, per the meeting packet. Minutes with the board's decision haven't been posted.
The Details
- What's proposed: A 5th Street marquee facing north, south and east, wall signs, a roof sign, parking-lot monument signs at driveway entrances, banners on parking-lot light poles and banners on 1,250 to 1,400 feet of parking-lot fencing, per the plan's exhibits. No specific sign designs are proposed yet, staff said.
- The marquee rules: Content is limited to Event Center events, advertising for building corporate partners, sponsors and advertisers, and community events or public service announcements. The electronic message can't change more often than once every 5 seconds, but that limit doesn't apply to full-motion video. Brightness is capped at 5,000 nits, and at 2,500 nits from dusk to dawn.
- Content can change: The plan says its exhibits show sign size and location, "and not sign content, which may change from time to time at the discretion of the owner (i.e. Event Center name, sponsorships, event advertising, etc.)" The plan names the City of Bismarck as the property owner.
- Staff view: City planners recommended approval, with the condition that substantive revisions return for review. Because the desired sign space "far exceeds the standard zoning allowance," staff are working with the applicant on a Plan Overlay District to adjust the rules; the packet's map labels it ZMA2026-001. Individual signs would still need sign permits unless exempt.
The Backstory
The center is surrounded mostly by commercial and office uses, including Kirkwood Mall to the south, per the staff report. At the Sept. 21 Event Center Authority Board meeting, Oak View Group staff said they are exploring off-site signage downtown, such as the nearby parking structure and skywalk. The minutes also say construction on the arena and Exhibit Halls C and D will begin this fall, resulting in several dark days next summer.
What It Means for Bismarck
Approval of the design review alone doesn't put up signs. The overlay district would change the zoning standards so some version of the plan is permitted, and each sign would then go through permitting.
Before You Go
- The packet doesn't give a hearing date for the overlay district. The Oct. 27 City Commission and Oct. 28 Planning & Zoning agendas weren't posted as of Oct. 22.
- The Event Center Authority Board's Oct. 19 agenda listed "Event Center Exterior Signage"; minutes from that meeting aren't posted yet.
- The city takes written comments on planning items at planning@bismarcknd.gov.
Sources: https://bismarcknd.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=5710,plainText=false) ; https://bismarcknd.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=5709,plainText=false) ; https://bismarcknd.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=5723,plainText=false) ; https://bismarcknd.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=5724,plainText=false)
