Some clever individual once said statistics don't lie, but they also tend not to stand up.

For instance, we could report that 50 percent of the people who showed up for the public forum at the Bismarck Civic Center on Friday favored adding a hotel to the structure.

That is true, but the deeper truth is that only four people turned out to voice their opinions. Two of them, the ones who thought a hotel-convention center would be a good idea, came together.

So the public-input phase of the Civic Center's plan to map out its future didn't add a whole lot to the discussion. What's at stake, essentially, is what Bismarck wants its major arena to be. Interest from a Canadian hotel business - which has suggested the possibility of building a hotel and water park adjacent to the Civic Center - has rekindled talk of growth at the city-owned building.

The city hired a Minnesota consulting firm to address what that growth might entail, and if it would be worthwhile. Though few folks showed up Friday to voice their opinions, the consultant made the rounds through town, talking to around 70 community stakeholders.

Bill Krueger, of Conventions, Sports &Leisure International, said his agency will have preliminary results by the end of June.

Arena manager Charlie Jeske said the report will help the Civic Center see what it might need to add - such as convention space - if anything, and if the return on investment would make changes feasible. The report might also help the city's mothers and fathers decide what they want the arena's mission to be. Should it be a revenue-generator in competition with private business or should it offer discounts to nonprofit groups and take losses on big-name concerts, just to break even every budget cycle? Should it be a combination of those things?

"When Istarted here I was asked to create events that appealed to the community and to utilize the services of the entire community,"Jeske said. "I was also told to watch my budget. We have a fiscal responsibility. We have cost restraints.

"The (city) commission wants us to be utilized by the entire community,"Jeske said. "Business people (nearby restaurants and hotels, particularly) want as much activity as we can get in here right now. But taxpayers look at the bottom line."

It won't be just Jeske and the city commissioners who eagerly await the report's return. Canad Inn, the company that has talked with Mayor John Warford and others about putting a hotel next to the Civic Center, also is going to read the study with interest. After reviewing CSL's recommendations, Canad plans to launch a study of its own into the Bismarck market.