I moved to Sioux Falls in 1996 and have spent many nights in the Sioux Falls Arena. It served us well in its time, but now nearly 19 years after the first time I walked through the doors, it's finally being replaced by the new Denny Sanford PREMIER Center next door.

Let's face it, the Arena was outdated already by the time I got to town. I remember talking to past Mayors about the need for us to get a new facility before Sioux City did. Of course we all know that Sioux City beat us to the punch, got Tyson to pony up naming rights and get their facility built. In my line of work, I could see what it was doing to our entertainment choices here in Sioux Falls. Before the Tyson was built, we would get calls often asking how we thought certain bands would do for ticket sales here. BIG names. As soon as word got out that there was a new, larger facility an hour south of us, the calls started drying up. Promoters started bypassing Sioux Falls. It started us on a decade of road trips to Sioux City, Omaha, Fargo and the Twin Cities to see the big name acts we wanted. It wasn't for lack of trying on the Arena's part. They tried very hard to get those bands to play here, but our facility was too small and too outdated for their needs.

Fast forward to today and Sioux Falls now has a beautiful new state-of-the-art facility. It's customizable for different shows that we will be able to attract now. From intimate theatre-in-the-round type shows, to giant productions. I can personally vouch for the fact that we are back on the radar for national promoters as my phone has started to ring again and e-mails have started up again.

What needs to change now is the constant complaining. The internet is a weird place where anyone with a computer or a smart phone can voice their opinion though maybe they shouldn't. As a collective, we need to accept where the facility is built, we need to realize that the days of waiting until the day of the show to decide if we're going to go to a show will be gone. We need to accept that like Minneapolis, Omaha, Chicago, etc., there are going to be luxury suites that most of us will never be in unless our employer has purchased one or we get to go with a friend to attend an event.

Too many people want the bigger facility, but they want everything else to stay the same. Sorry kids. It's time for Sioux Falls to join the rest of the cities that are fortunate enough to have a larger facility. And think of the money that we'll save in the long run over going to a show in the Twin Cities or Omaha by hopefully attracting some of those shows to Sioux Falls. Savings on gas, food, and hotel just off the top. Plus many of those facilities also charge for parking. Every show I've gone to in Minneapolis, I've either had to pay $10-$20 to park, or park my car well south of downtown and ride the light rail in and out of the city.

People have been complaining about the types of shows that have been announced so far. They've complained that they can't get tickets. They've complained about just about everything. Look. If you don't want to go to a show there, that's your choice. If the shows announced so far (and we just had the grand opening this weekend, so give them a little time!) don't fit what you'd like to see, trust me, I've spent a little time with the General Manager AND the Mayor, and they have both convinced me that they are working on bringing in entertainment that will eventually hit every cross section of fans.

On the "I couldn't get tickets and I really wanted to go" complaint? Get over it. I grew up in the Twin Cities. There were a lot of shows that I would have loved to have seen but didn't get a chance to because demand was greater than available tickets. It happens. And it's been happening since I started going to concerts in the 1970s! We're a growing city and region. People from other cities are going to be coming here for shows the same way we've been driving to their cities all these years. You are not going to be able to go to every show you want to anymore.

Again, we're in Sioux Falls, South Dakota not Los Angeles, New York or Chicago. Be happy that bands and big time shows like Cirque du Soleil even WANT to come to see us. Let's be happy with what we're offered, support it, and know that they want great shows for us as much as we want them. We now have the facility for it and it is absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to hear the sound system this Wednesday night with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and Starship featuring Mickey Thomas. I for one will be there with a big smile on my face. I hope you will be too.

PREMIER Center 2
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