Premier Center shows its drawing potential

The city's new events center is bringing Cher, Slipknot, Jason Aldean — and tourism dollars to Sioux Falls.

More than half of the tickets sold for the first few concerts at the Denny Sanford Premier Center went to out of town fans.

"One of the biggest selling points for building the event center was not only would it be a quality-of-life hit for the city, but it would be a rock solid economic development generator as well," Mayor Mike Huether said. "When these folks from out of town visit our new event center, they bring their wallets, purses and credit cards with them as well."

City staff and consultants have estimated from early on that 60 percent of visitors would be from out of town.

Ticket sales from the first few events validate the those estimates — 56 percent of buyers are from outside of the Sioux Falls area.

Some Premier Center tickets set aside after complaints

It's not possible to tell how many of those out-of-town fans will stay the night in Sioux Falls after an event or whether they already live here but use an out-of-state billing address. Those who do stay, though, generally spend $300 to $400 per person, said Teri Schmidt, executive director of the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau.

If it's a weekend show, which many on the Premier Center schedule are, people are more likely to spend the night. If it's a family show, they'll bring kids and might stay in town longer to hit the s mall or perhaps the zoo, Schmidt said.

Nearby hotels fill up fast once tickets go on sale. Jean Hoesing, general manager of the Ramada Hotel and Suites on Russell Street, said more rooms are booked for concert nights, and more business results for connected restaurants such as Castaways.

"Any business for Sioux Falls is good for us," she said

Last year, $10.8 million worth of meals, hotel stays and shopping were attributed to visitors to the Arena and Convention Center according to SMG, which runs the city-owned events center. Shows at the Arena also typically have drawn 60 percent of crowds from out of town.

"For a community our size, it's a great number," SMG General Manager Terry Torkildson said.

Premier Center ticket sales

A look at where sales are originating for the first major events at the Premier Center:

• 43.54 percent Sioux Falls and surrounding communities

• 26.6 percent elsewhere in South Dakota

• 7.5 percent Minnesota

• 5.5 percent Iowa

• 1.8 percent California

• 1.5 percent Colorado

• 1.4 percent Illinois

• 1.1 percent Connecticut

• 1.1 percent Nebraska

• 0.7 percent North Dakota

Source: SMG Sioux Falls

Premier Center concerts

• Friday and Saturday, Sept. 19 and 20: Open house

• Wed., Sept. 24: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

• Fri., Oct. 3: Jason Aldean with Florida Georgia Line

• Fri., Oct. 10: Demi Lovato with Christina Perri

• Fri., Oct. 31: Cher with Pat Benatar

• Sun., Nov. 9: Slipknot

• Fri., Nov. 21: Disney Junior Live Pirate and Princess Adventure

• Sat., Dec. 6: Eric Church with Dwight Yoakam