SF City Council Discusses Public Vote Monday

SIOUX FALLS, SD - By the end of Monday night, the fate of a new Sioux Falls Events Center could be in your hands.  The City Council will decide whether to put the project on a special ballot this November for a public vote.

Regardless of the specifics on a new building, Mayor Mike Huether has always wanted the public to decide the events center's fate.

Over the past few months, various details on a proposed Sioux Falls Events Center have been hammered out. The location has been finalized at the current Arena/Convention Center site and the cost has been set at a maximum of $115 million.

Now, the public is one step closer to voting on the issue. Last Monday, the Sioux Falls City Council heard an ordinance on the events center for the first time. This Monday, council members will vote on the issue and whether to put it on the ballot for a special November 8 election. They'll also vote on borrowing $45,000 from the general fund to help pay for the election itself.

If approved, Mayor Huether will have exactly three months to persuade the public to vote for a building. Our recent KELO-TV/Argus Leader poll showed 50 percent support for a new events center, versus 36 percent disapproval. 14 percent of voters were undecided.

Huether says if the public approves an events center, construction will start next fall and the first event could happen in 2014.