Looks like some arm twisting was going on

Politics as usual in Sux Falls. After the big bad school board told the Event Center task force to pony up before they can have Howard Wood, it seems in just a few short days they are having a change of tune.

The Sioux Falls School Board’s offer last week to sell Howard Wood Field to make room for a new arena came with a high price but no deadline.

 

Roman Holiday film

The board said it will need at least $15 million from the city or donors to build a new track and football field elsewhere; if that doesn’t happen, it will go ahead with a $6.3 million plan to renovate the existing field.

 

If all goes as expected, it will be another 18 months before the board has an answer. But even as the 52-year-old field increasingly shows its age, board members say they are in no hurry to renovate.

“We would hate to make investments and then a few years down the road learn that we’re not going to use the facility,” Doug Morrison said.

Kind of sounds like a few board members got some calls over the weekend?

“Yeah, Doug? Woster here. Um, word on the street is that you and the rest of the school board members that decided to not let us have Howard Wood are now being labeled as anti-growth and anti-progress. You know, it’s not me saying those things, I’m just hearing it from a lot of ‘citizens’. Not sure what you can do, but I sure wouldn’t want to be in the same boat as those tax petitioners. Know what I’m saying?”

Funny how things go in this town.