SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Last month Sioux Falls community leaders announced plans for the new Riverline District, a major redevelopment plan along the river near 10th Street and Cliff Avenue.

Public comment is still underway and the potential of a new sports stadium, specifically for the Canaries, is gaining a lot of attention.

In tonight’s Your Money Matters, we sit down with the Canaries administrators about the public input.

“Yes we want to be a part of the conversation,” Sioux Falls Canaries President Brian Jamros said.

True North Equity Partners first came to Sioux Falls in 2021 following the purchase of the Canaries’ baseball team.

“Really having a chance to have an impact on a high growth city like Sioux Falls, not current mind set but future mindset,” Canaries co-owner Twan said.

One of their future minded investments includes a land purchase right next to the new Riverline District.

“We own a piece of the land that’s in line with the Riverline; we believe in the broader perspective of public private partnership,” Twan said.

True North owns the former Record Keepers property just west of Franklin Avenue by the river and railroad tracks, with the vision of building a new stadium for the Canaries in partnership with the community’s view for the new district.

“The vision of something being centrally located, walk able in a live, work play downtown district,” Twan said. “What can the economic base be? A stadium would make a lot of sense there.”

But after weeks of public comments online, the idea of building a new stadium in the space is getting some strong reactions.

“It is what’s expected, its mixed. You have people that can see what a stadium could bring for the area and you have people that have no interest in a stadium,” Jamros said.

Many of the most popular public comments suggest using the space for more housing or multi-use projects; the Canaries new leadership say that’s also their vision for a future stadium.

“We believe baseball is a connector, for those 50 dates it can be a great experience, an economic driver to the area, but more importantly beyond those 50 dates, there’s a lot we can do and bring to the table. Bigger than baseball is what we’re thinking,” Jamros said.

Jamros says their vision feeds off of other mixed use stadiums like in Milwaukee and Chicago where people can enjoy all kinds of events and recreations throughout the year, not only in the summer months.

“Families have things going on, in South Dakota, you have a very small window of time to do things,” Jamros said.

We’ll hear more from the Canaries owners in Wednesday night’s Your Money Matters.

Public comment for the Riverline District is open through March 24th.