Is Sioux Falls' events campus a 'sunk-cost fallacy?'

Councilors question wisdom of continued spending near Russell Road and West Avenue

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Promises of economic development near the Sioux Falls Arena never materialized when the $19 million convention center was built in the 1990s.

And few restaurants and bars sprang up after the city invested another $117 million in the Denny Sanford Premier Center nearly a decade ago.

So now, as Mayor Paul TenHaken’s administration prepares to spend another couple million in Sioux Falls’ decades-long quest to bring economic vibrancy to the events center complex, some city councilors are questioning whether that will ever happen in the north-central Sioux Falls neighborhood, near Russell Road and West Avenue.

“I’m deeply skeptical of any development out there,” Councilor Greg Neitzert said Tuesday during a briefing about the status of ongoing work by the Event Center Complex Advisory Board. This summer, the board began crafting a long-range master plan for the campus that houses the events center, convention center, arena and a baseball stadium.

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