The city of Sioux Falls is getting noticed for spending millions to upgrade its facilities to stay competitive in the sports tournament and event industry.

The Rockford Register Star reports on the new building of recreation and tourism-related amenities in Sioux Falls.

  1. The $115 million Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, backed by voter-approved bonds. The 12,000-seat arena is linked to an existing 100,000-square-foot convention center and a smaller, 7,000-seat arena. All three venues are owned by the city.
  2. Sanford Health is spending $19 million to build The Pentagon, a 160,000-square-foot indoor, multi-use sports facility that will feature nine basketball courts when it opens in the fall of 2013.

The Pentagon would be the nucleus of the 162-acre Sanford Sports Complex. The sports mecca, as envisioned, would accommodate visitor and community soccer, junior football and tennis activities. Other potential additions to the complex include an indoor ice facility with three sheets of ice and a multimillion dollar indoor aquatic center.

it's clear that other communities are noticing what is going on in Sioux Falls. Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Teri Schmidt did an interview with the newspaper about how Sioux Falls is a major competitor for these events.

"The gentlemen who did the interview with me said, ‘Rockford has got to get going, you guys are pulling out way ahead of us,’" Schmidt said.

In addition, the development plan, just west of the airport and east of I-29, includes retail stores, family style restaurants and hotels.

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