Event Center

Event Center task force meeting update; H/T – Sy

l3wis June 25, 2009 35Comments

I decided to make Sy’s comment it’s own post;

Sy says:
June 24th, 2009 at 9:14 pm e

I attended the meeting today (WED), they are stuck on the HWF/Arena site, but aren’t sure if we should build one be all end all Events Center or maybe look at two facilities. One for games/concerts and another for conventions/tradeshows/events.

Didn’t seem to occur to them that if we are talking two facilities, we should be talking two sites. They kept referring to an Arena vs. a Coliseum.

They want to figure out that question before they ask the Consultant to put together a pro-forma on whether or not the thing will fly.

They also were at the point of eliminating the idea of an indoor football venue, but didn’t want to make that call since the one major backer of that idea (I can only assume they meant Dykehouse) wasn’t in attendance.

I’ll give them credit, they are trying. But they can’t see the forest through the trees.

Some other points;

We are seriously behind the 8 ball on all phases, whether you are talking conventions, trade shows, concerts, games, etc. It’s amazing we draw what we draw. We lose or almost lose a ton of business due to lack or airline service. The person who usually signs the contract nearly craps him/herself when he looks at direct flights into SF vs. Omaha. We also lack the type & number of hotel rooms they want, the shopping & dining amenities they want, and the overall experience most of these people are accustomed too. It’s amazing we can book shit at all.

Also, they are taking their sweet time, but you can tell the sentiment of trying to please everyone is guiding the process. Again, the point of the Task Force should be to put together the best plan, whether or not it’s the most popular or it’s on the path of least resistance. They are going to put together a plan, then ask the consultant to give them the pro-forma to make it fly politically, which seems entirely bass-ackwards to me.

Event Center Clusterphuck

l3wis June 19, 2009 19Comments

My blogging cohort and all knowing Replacements fan, Scotty Hudson has been saying for years that a 15,000 seat Event Center would be too big for our demographic and population in the metro area, and apparently a consultant firm agrees;

A 10,000-seat events center would be optimal and could attract most concerts and compete for some national sporting events on the high school and college levels.

No surprise. Sioux Falls has often had the mentality, if you build it, they will come. Sometimes that is the case, but not always. Besides funding, and location, a 15,000 seat event center is just too big, especially when we have similiar facilities within an hour and two and half hours away.

Several factors threaten to limit the city’s potential to compete for large regional or national conventions, sporting events and concerts, Kaatz said. Too few hotel rooms, the availability and cost of airline service into the city, and the proximity of the centers to an entertainment district all could hinder Sioux Falls’ efforts to lure business.

What? They have a Buffalo Wild Wings just two blocks away? What do you expect, we reopen Happy Chef? Maybe the Ghost and Sy are right. Maybe it should be downtown. I know the perfect place for it, contaminated dirt and all.

In another major point, Kaatz said that dramatically increasing the size of the convention center without building up necessary support facilities, such as hotels, might not bring in corresponding growth. He argued that because the convention center is booked 60 percent of the time, and heading toward the 70 percent mark, it might be close to reaching its potential, given the existing support facilities nearby.

 

“Let’s not put ourselves in a position where we are not as successful in the future as we were in the past,” he said.

The only good thing about Sioux City; a good punk rock music scene

That has always been my agrument about Sioux Falls fast growth. Slower educated growth is superior to fast haphazard growth. Who are we competing with? Seriously. We have NO competition in our region. NONE. You have to drive two and half hours before getting in a city larger then us, and frankly, Omaha isn’t that great. Are we afraid of Sioux City?

Don’t make me laugh.

Kaatz’s analysis is based on the Sioux Falls that exists today or one that will grow incrementally, Baloun said. But that’s not necessarily the city the task force envisions the new events and convention centers serving.

 

“John gave us a very conservative look,” Baloun told Kaatz and the task force. “But there are strategies in place to do other things you don’t know yet.”

BAHAHAHAHA! Why are you holding out on us? And why didn’t you use those strategies instead of paying a consultant thousands of dollars for a report you are going to throw in the garbage?

Kind of reminds of the audit of the Pavilion a few years ago. “Thanks for the suggestions where we can improve. But we will ignore them and continue to go down the wrong path.”

Event Center funding source 'stupid'

l3wis May 31, 2009 12Comments

Thanks for the extra tax on your food Mrs. Smith, it helps pay for the next Cher concert in Sux Falls.

There were several parts of this article I could pick apart and bitch about, but it’s a Sunday, and I don’t have the patience or the time, I will, however comment on this part;

The city would need a new funding source – probably through an increase in the local sales tax, which is at 2 percent. That would take legislative approval in Pierre.

Even if my whiny little ass was on street corners, 24/7 before the this tax increase vote telling people this tax increase is ‘stupid’, it would not matter. It is stupid. And common sense will tell people that. I can’t believe that these supposed ‘city leaders’ came up with this option to fund the EC. Voters will shoot it down. A bed and booze tax is the best way to fund this place, not an increase on food and utility taxes to people who will never use this facility.

I do support a new EC, but don’t I don’t think making the people who will never benefit from it, pay for it.

The EC Task Force needs to grow a brain, seriously.