A study group tasked with exploring the future of several facilities is poised to recommend further evaluation of Sioux Falls Stadium, the aging home of the Sioux Falls Canaries (independent; American Association).
Sioux Falls Stadium is among the facilities that has been the subject of a study on the futures of venues around the Denny Sanford Premier Center. The group completing the study, which was tabbed by the city, is emerging with some recommendations–including a suggestion to demolish Sioux Falls Arena–but believes that further analysis is needed in deciding the future of Sioux Falls Stadium.
The idea is to have another task force take a deeper dive into the options with Sioux Falls Stadium, including the possibility of renovating the facility or building a replacement at another site. More from SiouxFalls.Business:
“This depends on some other dominoes, and there are other things that would have to be worked out,” said Tom Hurlbert, a principal architect and founder at Co-Op Architecture.
The task force would study various elements of a renovated or new baseball stadium, including market demand, size, location, amenities, additional revenue opportunities and the viability of a Major League Baseball affiliation.
If the city expanded convention space at the current campus, a demolished Sioux Falls Stadium would allow for 600 to 650 surface parking spaces, the group said.
“The subcommittee really understood baseball is very important to the city as a whole, and there needs to be more input from the experts who have a stake in the future of baseball in the community,” said Andrea Miller, project manager at Journey Group.
Last year, a concept for a new downtown Sioux Falls ballpark was released to the public, pitching the facility as potential anchor for new development. Sioux Falls Stadium is located in the western part of the town, placed among a sports complex that includes Sioux Falls Arena.
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