Sioux Falls Event Center

[rabidrabbit]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

With no dog in this fight, let me pass along that most communities are looking for the opportunity to revitalize their downtown. It needs to be the destination. Not the place that roles up at 6 PM. How does a community make that happen? Having a convention center/arena is a good concept. Sioux Falls has the disadvantage of no D-I team calls the city home. Can the 2 D-II teams be enticed off campus for BB? Is gambling ever a possiblity? Sioux Falls, as the largest community in SD, should be a location that brings in national acts, and sells them out. It's the conventions, trade shows, circuses, plus some sports that fill the arena. There needs to be good night life options, sufficient hotel space, and all in walking distance, preferably through elevated, heated walkways. Few tourists will happily venture out when it's 20 degrees, and 25-30 mph wind. Which sounds like a balmy Jan/Feb. forecast for most Dakotans. If want to please those coming in via car, stay at the current location, or even move to the I-29/I-90 area. If want to bring back DT, then build there.

[jackdaniel]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

The picking of a location went thru the process.You DT people had your fair shot.Most polls out favor the Arena sight.What don't you understand about the democratic process anyway?Why keep standing in the way of progress?If you'd rather see the Arena as our Events center til it's condemned,fine, vote down the upcomming election.But the DT or no where movement is quite frankly hurting the chances of one getting built anywhere in SF.

[HoboD]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

The picking of a location went thru the process.You DT people had your fair shot.Most polls out favor the Arena sight.What don't you understand about the democratic process anyway?Why keep standing in the way of progress?If you'd rather see the Arena as our Events center til it's condemned,fine, vote down the upcomming election.But the DT or no where movement is quite frankly hurting the chances of one getting built anywhere in SF.

Bingo.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

The picking of a location went thru the process.You DT people had your fair shot.Most polls out favor the Arena sight.What don't you understand about the democratic process anyway?Why keep standing in the way of progress?If you'd rather see the Arena as our Events center til it's condemned,fine, vote down the upcomming election.But the DT or no where movement is quite frankly hurting the chances of one getting built anywhere in SF.

What don't you understand. There was no fair shot in this process. The Mayor controlled the outcome of the location of his choice and ultimately made the deciding vote. The democratic process will play out in a vote and I predict it will get voted down in a landside as it should. Why should people who support an event center downtown simply just get on board and support it at the arena/convention center if they don't believe that is the right "long term" decision for the city. Respect their ability to voice their opinion and vote with their conscience.

[zooropa]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

hurting the chances of one getting built anywhere in SF.

This is ridiculous.

If Sioux Falls can't afford to do this right, then they certainly can't afford to do it at all.

[zooropa]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

See, this is the hypocrisy of insisting that the "Build it Downtown" people get on board the arena bandwagon (actually, there isn't an arena bandwagon):

Saying, "You should support it regardless of where it's built" means "where it's built isn't important" which means that there should have been no opposition to building it downtown because "where it's built isn't important."

If, on the other hand, you feel that location IS important, then it's a bit hypocritical to expect the Build it Downtown people to decide that location ISN'T important, and actively support the Arena location.

[jackdaniel]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

What don't you understand. There was no fair shot in this process. The Mayor controlled the outcome of the location of his choice and ultimately made the deciding vote. The democratic process will play out in a vote and I predict it will get voted down in a landside as it should. Why should people who support an event center downtown simply just get on board and support it at the arena/convention center if they don't believe that is the right "long term" decision for the city. Respect their ability to voice their opinion and vote with their conscience.

The people of Sioux Falls elect the city coucil members to represent them(representative form of Democracy, like our Elected members of the House of Representatives and the Senate in Washington DC),the vote to choose a sight ended in a tie,the Mayor has the deciding vote when the councils vote ends in a tie[ much like the Vice President also breaks a tie vote in the Senate (i think) ]I think you know what I mean when I say you had a fair shot,you just want to deny the fact that you lost.It's the old conspiracy theory,or I'm a victim of said conspiracy thing.It happens when people don't get their own way.I agree with your last statement,I'm in no way suggesting that people have to vote yes for building the Events Center,I'm just saying the deciding where to put it is over and it went thru a "Democratic" process.

[zooropa]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

(representative form of Democracy, like our Elected members of the House of Representatives and the Senate in Washington DC)

Actually, it's more like the Westminster system.

There are multiple 'parties' here (undecided, opposed, arena, downtown).

No party has a clear majority, and the only way the arena people can obtain a majority is by obtaining the support of the 'downtown' people.

Effectively, the 'arena' people have to form a coalition with the 'downtown' people to pass this, which is why the mayor is suddenly trying to make nice with people he's ignored for the last year. It's why he's suddenly talking about 'building bridges' after spending a year burning them. He did his best to stifle the downtown movement and it failed. Now he realizes he needs to form a coalition, and it's not going well. My guess is that he expected a groundswell of support for the Arena location and it never came. Nobody's in love with the arena location. You can't be. It's a big asphalt nowhere. The most vociferous support for the Arena has come from 1) the mayor and 2) out-of-towners who don't realize that 12,000 people at the arena site will be a 24k nightmare.

The failure of the events center vote will be, in fact, *more* democratic than the site selection process ever was.

[jackdaniel]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

No way do I like a "representative" form of Democracy,which has basicly been transformed into a two party system with each side taken over by extreme 'LEFT' and 'RIGHT' factions which has led to devisiveness and an ineffective government,along with "Representatives " corrupted by special interest groups who do not represent the people who elected them.It's why our country is like it is today,so it's not that i'm not sympathetic with the DT people.I would support an Events Center if it had been chosen for Downtown,but it wasn't.

[zooropa]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

but it wasn't.

It's 'undemocratic' for the BID people to oppose an idea they don't like?

[jackdaniel]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

It's 'undemocratic' for the BID people to oppose an idea they don't like?

They can only oppose the location by hoping the Events Center is voted down and it comes up later....a gamble in my opinion

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

I don't think you have to worry about it. I am confident that you will be successful in blocking this venture, and thus prolong the status quo for many years to come. Congratulations for being well on your way to saving the people of Sioux Falls, Tyndall and other parts of South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota, northwestern Iowa, and perhaps even northeastern Nebraska from these awful things. Thank you now and for many years in the future.

I can't speak for everyone, but I'm not trying to block anything I simply strongly feel the best long term solution for Sioux Falls is to build the largest and most expensive public expenditure in the history of this city in the downtown like virtually like every other community has with the best chance for a return on investment. Do the people from the outlying areas cited above have a problem finding the event centers in downtown Des Moines, Omaha or Minneapolis? I believe the overall experience for attendees will be so much better in downtown compared to the present arena site. SDSU ventured to stop following the status quo and dare to be different and it is paying off like it did for so many other schools who made that move before us. I see the same analogy with a downtown event center in Sioux Falls. The old saying of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result would be my definition of spending a 120 million at the current arena site.

[zooropa]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

a gamble in my opinion

Why do you think this would be a gamble?

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

They can only oppose the location by hoping the Events Center is voted down and it comes up later....a gamble in my opinion

My hope is its voted down. I think the majority of people now realize a new facility is needed and the debate will continue. Good news is a lot of young people who normally are not part of the democratic process are now engaged over this issue and hopefully will continue to stay involved and maybe some will run for city council and alter the balance of power. I think based on the way Huether has handled the process he will be one term and done.

[HoboD]

Re: Sioux Falls Event Center

This is ridiculous.

If Sioux Falls can't afford to do this right, then they certainly can't afford to do it at all.

Since your getting into labeling people and their comments here Zoo, I and a whole bunch of folks think your downtown or no events center attitude is ridiculous. A new event center will succede any where its built. Of course your "my way or the highway" attitude will kill it, but you still wont get support for downtown. Keep it up. Im going to start making plans for 2015 to attend the Summit elsewhere thanks to people like you. I hear Fargo is quite nice in March.