Does the City have ‘Big Plans’ for Events Center Campus?

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There has already been talk that the plans proposed for the EC campus could be so big that the changes would have to be voted on by the public, in other words potential bonding.

So what would that include?

Recently I have been intrigued by the fact that the latest data mining EC survey online has been asking people for personal information like voter registration status. It got me thinking that perhaps they want this data to use in a campaign if the changes go to voters for the campus, changes that could include significant changes to the campus in the form of a massive public/private partnership that could cost well over $25-50 million dollars. That could be a retail complex with a hotel attached that could sit on the land where the SF Stadium is now if demolished. But I have NO idea what it could be.

With a survey out there collecting voter data, that tells me they are gearing up for some kind of major campaign and major changes to the campus. Pure speculation at this point, but worth some thought.

Is the Events Center Campus Book Club skirting transparency?

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The first two meetings were several hours long with Bruce’s camera present. A foot soldier attended the 3rd meeting yesterday, it was a whopping 25 minutes long. This person got the feeling that the group is now meeting in sub-committees privately to avoid being transparent in the bigger picture. It will be interesting to see their final decisions come out of nowhere with no prior discussion (at least one out in open).

It seems the more we scream for transparency, the more they go underground.

2018 Events Center Finance Report tells us very little

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This is quite the spreadsheet for a multi-million dollar business (Full Doc: Denty-2018-Finances)

I have asked since the place has opened what their yearly sales are. If I had to guess, looking at the sales tax paid (3 pennies) it would be around $55 Million. Where does that money go? Straight out of town to artists, promoters and to Ovation’s coffers (they are the concession provider). We get back a whopping $3.7 million in which $2.1 million (the net operating income) goes into a revolving fund the city has in their bank account but that SMG controls.

Am I the only one that has noticed that the economy in Sioux Falls has been staggering ever since the Denty opened? Well, when you send $55 million straight out the door of our community each year, it has an effect and not a good one.