A temporary wall separates the east and west sides of the DakotaDome these days, slicing down the middle the present and the future of a facility that has represented a big part of the University of South Dakota's athletic department for nearly 40 years.
 
The wall is there because construction has begun on a robust renovation of the inside of the Dome. The $26.3 million in improvements, which includes new locker rooms and meeting facilities for the football team, two new entrances on the west side, as well as permanent seating that includes 10 suites and 15 loge boxes, is expected to take 18 months to complete.
 
The Dome has always been a busy place – on Wednesday the east side included runners, jumpers and throwers from the track team as well as golfers hitting at targets – and will be even more hectic now with heavy-duty construction taking up one side while the other continues to serve student-athletes just as it always has.
 
"For everybody familiar with this building over the years, they've always walked in and looked at bleachers," South Dakota athletic director David Herbster said. "Now they're going to walk in and get a higher-level experience. The football team and the other athletes are certainly going to notice the difference. The coaches are going to notice the difference because they won't have to go to the Business School to have a team meeting."
 
The planning of the remodel has presented those responsible for its execution with a unique set of circumstances. No. 1, it has to take place within the Dome's existing configuration. No. 2, the building will be going on while the Dome continues to provide training areas and locker room space for Coyote athletic programs.
 
"It's still going to be a practice facility used by athletes," said Brian Limoges, USD's director of construction service. "We have demolition equipment inside the building that we'll use to demo masonry walls and concrete floors. Trying to mitigate the smells and the dust is going to be a challenge."
 
But a challenge definitely worth taking on. Nobody is more aware of that – or more appreciative – than football coach Bob Nielson, who came to USD three seasons ago with assurances that facility improvements were going to be a priority. He's now seeing the promises delivered.
 
"The main message we want to get out there is that we're going to have unbelievable team, coaching and meeting facilities in this project that are state-of-the-art standard," Nielson said. "The growing pains part of it is that we're going to have spring practice outside. That's not ideal because of South Dakota spring weather but we've tried to build a schedule that gives us some flexibility to slide a day or two around."
 
At the time Nielson alluded to the weather, much of southeastern South Dakota was getting drilled with a half-foot of snow. It arrived amid a series of storms in one of the feistiest Februarys on record.  The expansive outdoor artificial turf practice area, completed at the end of the season a year ago, assures spring practice will not take place in the mud, so there is reason for optimism.
 
"A lot of things are going to have to change between now and March 20," he admitted, laughing. "There will be some days that probably won't be as productive as we'd like, but at the same time the way we have it scheduled we'll take advantage of the best weather we can get for that month."


 
It's obvious that Nielson, a former athletic director himself, is concentrating on the big picture as the program works its way through what will ultimately be a dramatic improvement in how the football team goes about its business.
 
The Coyotes will get their field back in time for six 2019 home football games, including an intriguing non-conference matchup with Montana on Aug. 31 and South Dakota State on Nov. 23. Work will continue on the west side throughout the year with an expected finish in the summer of 2020. The seating capacity will go from 5,500 next season to 9,037 in 2020.
 
"The positives are the guys are going to see the construction every day and understand that they're going to be in there in a matter of months," Nielson said. "And it's going to be a situation where tickets are going to be in high demand. Considering that we were sold-out for a majority of our games last season, I'm hoping it encourages people to buy season tickets and that base expands. That's the way they're going to be able to assure they get a seat next season."
 
The future version of the Dome is already proving to be an effective recruiting tool. The staff has not hesitated to show prospective players what the new locker rooms are going to look like.
 
"They all saw what it is going to look like as they came in," Nielson said. "I think for a lot of kids that was the difference in their decision to come to the University of South Dakota. They see not only what the facility is going to look like, but they understand the investment that the University is making."


 
In the meantime, it will not be uncommon to see heavy equipment making its way onto the Dome floor through garage entryway located in the northwest corner.
 
"How are we going to get the large pieces of precast material in the building?" Limoges asked, knowing ultimately they will figure it out. "We need to make sure we can make the turns. And there will be a crane to lift all that up. It will be a crane that has to watch out because it's not outside – there is a ceiling overhead."
 
There is a great reward involved, though, despite the difficulties.
 
"Obviously the DakotaDome is an icon in the state," Limoges said. "I'm born and bred in South Dakota so I've known about the DakotaDome my whole life. To be a part of this renovation and to see it come to fruition is exciting. I know there will be challenges: How did they go about building this place in the 70s? What are we going to uncover? But we'll handle that. And after seeing the renderings, seeing what it is actually going to look like is exciting. It's going to make it a state-of-the-art football facility not only for USD but for the whole state."
 
In addition to providing shelter and training grounds for all of USD's sports, the Dome has provided storage for all manner of athletic equipment. To that end, the Coyotes have been using the former Builders Supply store in Vermillion as an "annex" to the Dome while teams wait for the weather to warm up.
 
"It's not like the Louisiana Purchase," Herbster said. "But it does give us some good square footage where we've been able to put softball batting cages. We have an area for diving dry-land training, an area for golf, an area for our throwers and a big turf area that all the sports can use."
 
Meanwhile, the fundraising continues for both the Coyotes' current project and for what comes next. It's quite a list, involving plans to move the swimming pool to an expanded wellness center and a remodeling of the east side of the Dome, including both the concourse and the areas that will be vacated when football moves to the west side.
 
"We're still actively involved in fundraising and will continue to fundraise through this phase," Herbster said. "Then we'll continue to push forward with a plan on what the next phase is going to be. I think at this point, why stop? We're fundraising to a vision, not just a phase."
 

Last picture of the DakotaDome before the contractors move in and the renovations begin. #Progress #WeAreSouthDakota pic.twitter.com/SpZDYfjIu6

— David Herbster (@dmherbster) February 17, 2019