Sara Otte Coleman (left) and Brian Lunde (right) view the potential space for the proposed Bison World project Tuesday morning.

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – North Dakota Tourism officials took a tour of Jamestown to gauge the different ways to encourage both residents and non-residents to visit the state.

State Director Sara Otte Coleman and her staff sat down with local leaders of Jamestown Tourism and the Bison World project to provide an update on the largescale endeavor. Coleman says the project has tremendous potential as the state recovers from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Coleman says they understand it’s leisure travel that is recovering, but the state is a combination of that and business.

Coleman says it’s attractions like Bison World or the Theodore Roosevelt National Library that inspire a visitor to buy tickets and travel to North Dakota. She says getting people to see North Dakota with “fresh eyes” may be key to inspiring more tourism to the state.

Local business leader Brian Lunde has spearheaded the Bison World project and informed the group that they were awaiting Apogee Attractions finished designs and the financial report from Eide Bailey. Once reports are completed, they’ll be combined and used as a tool to access Legacy Funding.

“We’re excited they’re here so we can showcase what Jamestown has to offer,” Jamestown Tourism Executive Director Searle Swedlund stated.

Bison World would consist of developing approximately 120-acres of State of North Dakota land that is currently being used as a pasture for the National Buffalo Museum’s bison herd. Plans currently include, but are not limited to the development of a hotel, restaurant, discovery center, gondola/skyway, safari tour, and more.

The project is seeking about $60 million in funding from the Legacy Fund. If the funding is approved, construction could begin in the spring of 2022.