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Premier Center celebrates 10th anniversary with pink performance

Posted on by Kennedy
Premier Center celebrates 10th anniversary with pink performance

Through the years: South Dakota's largest venue has sold out concerts and rubber ducky competitions

The Denny Sanford PREMIER Center turns 10 this month and pop singer P!nk is coming to the birthday party.

Falls Park is already lit up in cotton candy pink to celebrate the arrival of their Summer Carnival tour, and the street in front of the Denny Center has been renamed P!NK Place.

There are pink banners downtown, pink drinks downtown, pink balloons in the hotels, and a guard at the PREMIER Center is already preparing to collect pink glitter for days.

The cornerstone concert is this Monday.

Here's what you should know about the big event:

What did it take to come to such a grandiose celebration?

The Denny Sanford PREMIER Center was a long time coming for Sioux Falls.

After the Sioux Falls Arena, built in 1961, could no longer keep up with the city's population – which nearly doubled in size between the 1960s and the early 2000s – there were rumors of a larger venue as early as the late 1980s.

There was opposition, but a citywide vote in 2011 ultimately decided to expand the arena and the Sioux Falls Convention Center with the so-called Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, a namesake secured by a 25-year, $20 million agreement made possible with Sanford Health and First PREMIER Bank.

The venue, in partnership with ASM Global, is part of an entertainment campus located between West and Western Avenues at Russell Street, adjacent to the Sioux Falls Canaries Birdcage and Howard Wood Field.

“So many memories will be made in this facility,” then-Mayor Mike Huether said during an emotional opening ceremony in September 2019. He wiped away tears, thanked the city council and hugged families as they entered the building, calling it “ours.” “.

The public has finally been invited to view the anticipated $115 million project.

Looking back: Mayor Mike Huether then held an emotional opening ceremony for the long-awaited venue

They settled into one of the 12,000 seats in the four-level event center, enjoyed the views from each of the 22 suites and 18 boxes, toasted each other at the bar and enjoyed concessions discounts.

“I would love for everyone to be proud when they leave,” Huether said that day.

It seems to have paid off.

For the past decade, Sioux Falls has welcomed Queen City artists like Garth Brooks and his wife Trisha Yearwood for nine days of sold-out concerts in 2017. Dolly Parton came to town the year before, also with lots of pink and sequins. The Eagles held their “History” tour a year after opening the Denny, and Stevie Nicks cried onstage when Fleetwood Mac came to woo the city in 2019.

Denny's assistant general manager Jim Johnson said country music is the city's most popular genre. They worked hard, he assured, to attract Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Shania Twain and Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire, Eric Church and Jason Aldean, who was one of the first artists to take the stage at the Denny on the big opening night on October 3, 2014.

The boisterous crowd sang along to Aldean's “Wide Open” and “My Kinda Party” for his “Burnin' it Down” tour.

Back from retirement! Rascal Flatts will return to the Denny next year.

Aldean's was the first of more than 50 sold-out shows over the years (his tickets sold out in minutes). Metallica is currently claiming the award with a record 12,980 fans in the stands earlier this year.

Previously, Elton John attracted more than 11,000 fans during his second visit to Sioux Falls in 2015, and Carrie Underwood broke the 12,000 mark in fall 2019. The venue continues to break records.

With approximately 20 concerts per year – and nearly 100 events per year, including basketball tournaments, hockey games, rodeo and the popular Disney on Ice shows every December – the PREMIER Center sells more than 700,000 tickets annually and brings in nearly $3 million a.

Opening night! Before Jason Aldean's grand opening show, Joan Jett was the first to rock on stage

“This is one of the best markets I’ve ever seen,” said Johnson, who has been booking shows for the Denny since 2018. “Building this venue took years of foresight, but it was truly a successful endeavor.”

A committed staff provides recurring services

Today, the business continues to thrive with the help of about 50 full-time and nearly 500 part-time employees who come to pick up tickets, sell food and drinks and escort guests to their seats. Mike Krewson has been the facility's general manager since 2018, succeeding Terry Torkildson, the Denny's only other GM.

“Our team here has worked tirelessly to make this complex the leader in the region that it is today,” Krewson said. “We continue to raise the bar year after year, expanding our event offerings and improving the guest experience.”

The effort has received national attention and awards, including multiple nominations for Arena of the Year from the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Last year, the Denny was among the top six venues honored at the ACMs, including arenas in Texas, Florida, Arkansas and Tennessee, all of which hold at least 14,000 and up to 21,000 seats. In comparison, the Denny seats 12,000.

“That’s why we work just as hard for our guests and touring artists,” Krewson said last year.

Krewson's pal Johnson attributes their success to a thriving workplace culture.

Even during a pandemic in 2020, when most tours were canceled, Johnson said staff morale remained, and perhaps even increased, thanks to a supportive city and management.

They always kept up with monthly staff meetings, anniversary celebrations, team-building “pulse checks,” and rock-paper-scissors tournaments, and even took short breaks to see who could throw rubber ducks from the third floor into a bucket Arena bowl.

“Here you know you’re giving up a lot of nights and weekends,” Johnson said. “We spend a lot of time together, we are like a family and so we want to get people out of their offices as often as possible and have fun together.”

This special touch counts in the entertainment industry

On the surface, the Denny is known among artists as a place they love to return to.

Doria Drost, the venue's marketing director, says artists love the venue's catering — “some say it's the best thing they've had on tour” — the friendliness of the staff and the unexpected efforts.

“Jim Gaffigan and his wife were overwhelmed that the venue donated a portion of ticket sales from his show to the nonprofit organization one of their children hosts, Imagine Society,” Drost said. Gaffigan was here just last month.

“And Lauren Daigle mentioned that she loved the gift box from local artisan Wonderfully Made and a flower crown-making station backstage.” Daigle was here again in 2019 and earlier this year.

Denny's great sales history is also enticing, he said. In the first year alone, sales exceeded $1 million.

“Every now and then we run into an agent who has never been here and thinks of Little House on the Prairie when they think of what South Dakota is like,” Johnson said. “But when they see how quickly we’re expanding and experiencing everything we have to offer, it’s an easy selling point for event organizers.”

And the focus is also on the fans, says Drost – ensuring smooth concession lines, a clean building and friendly greeters.

“The Denny Sanford PREMIER Center brand is all about supporting community,” she said. “It’s about creating positive, unique experiences for the public.”

“At the end of the day, we’re really just trying to be good members of the community,” Johnson added.

What awaits us in the next decade?

Johnson said their focus is on modernizing the existing building, which is still in very good condition – “We've had the arena for 60 years and even that still looks great!” – and long-term expansions for the Sioux Falls Convention Center that has reached capacity as conferences and tourism events continue to take place there.

He says it can now take up to five years to implement every need and that's why they are prioritizing funding, technical upgrades and building structure requirements.

“My brain is really in the future here,” Johnson said. “I usually know more about what happens next year than what happens next week!”

As we continue to reflect on what a treasure the venue has been for our community and what's to come, Mayor Paul TenHaken says he “can't imagine Sioux Falls without a PREMIER Center.”

“This venue has been a catalyst for economic growth, cultural enrichment and unforgettable experiences,” he said earlier this year. “I am grateful for the visionary leadership and dedicated team that made this success possible and will continue to see its success.”

Upcoming shows at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center

  • P!nk on October 21st
  • Kids Bop Live 2024 on November 2nd
  • Country singer Lainey Wilson on November 9th
  • Country bands Little Big Town and Sugarland on November 15th
  • Disney on Ice presents Mickey's Search Party December 5-8
  • Pentatonix: Hallelujah! It's a Christmas tour on December 14th

Tickets are available on the Denny's website.

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