If everything falls into place, North Dakota's largest indoor archery facility could be open in southwest Bismarck in time for next summer's Prairie Rose State Games.

Representatives from the Nishu Bowmen archery club, and its major partners in the project, the Bismarck Parks and Recreation and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, announced the accelerated plan at a news conference Thursday at the outdoor archery range, which will be the site of the new 90-foot-by-150-foot building.

"We'd love to have it by Prairie Rose," said Jack Olson, the Nishu Bowmen building committee chairman, "but we don't know."

"We hope to be up and operating in the summer," said Steve Neu, Bismarck Parks and Recreation director.

The next step in what has been an on-going drive for almost two years will be a fund-raising campaign within the Bismarck-Mandan business community, said Olson.

Some local businesses already have contributed money or expertise, and Nishu members have chipped in about $50,000, Olson said.

The new facility will be built on the north side of the existing outdoor archery range. Restrooms and a water fountain on the building's southwest side would be open to the public using the Riverwood Drive recreation trail.

The building also will be wheelchair accessible, which opens new doors for conducting archery education classes. Classes now are held in downtown Bismarck's World War Memorial Building, which is not wheelchair accessible.

The new indoor facility will be the setting for archery classes, bow-hunting education, outdoor club meetings, target and 3-D leagues, plus be open for public archery.

"We'd like to see it very busy," Olson said.

And the youth programs, especially, are what helped bring NDGFD on board.

Although North Dakota's numbers are good, youth involvement in hunting and shooting is dropping nationwide, said Chris Grondahl, NDGFD outreach supervisor.

"We don't want it to happen here," he added.

NDGFD is putting $75,000 in grant funds into the project over a period of years, Grondahl said, "and I think we are going to try to accelerate (the payouts)."

Parks and Recreation will own the building, and Nishu volunteers will do much of the upkeep.

Original estimates called for a total cost of $175,000, but the price tag has gone up, Olson said.

The range will have close to 30 shooting lanes that offer shots up to 35 or 38 yards.

The timetable calls for the slab to go in this year, with hopes of putting the building on it this winter. The public restrooms would be built in the spring.

"The quicker we get it up, the more people can start using it," said Olson.

(Reach reporter Richard Hinton at 250-8256 or outdoors@bismarcktribune.net.)