The move will be contingent on the result of the Measure 4 vote, a North Dakota ballot initiative that, if passed by voters, would eliminate state property taxes.
Developers still have to fine-tune design plans, but additions like a rock climbing wall, an amphitheater and a pedestrian bridge to East Grand Forks are still on the table.
Meanwhile, North Dakota, with the fastest-growing Black population in the U.S., in one year jumped from No. 50 for worst racial disparities in homeownership to No. 19.
The theater, expected to open in 2025, will include an all-new interior and exterior, a second level, a three-story screen, duckpin bowling, a live stage and a self-serve beer and wine wall.
Thom Higgins gained national notoriety for throwing a pie in the face of anti-gay activist Anita Bryant in the 1970s. A decade earlier, he gained notoriety on the UND campus for another reason.
The 2023 season was shortened by floodwaters in the spring. Park manager Catherine Johnson hopes the recreation area attendance record will be broken in 2024.