Original image Argus Leader (manipulated by South DaCola)
Trying to find a negative about a new events center, well you have to go to almost the end of the column to find this;
Rush also is skeptical that a new events center can operate at a profit. He said people in Sioux Falls should be prepared to pay an operating subsidy of between $1 million and $2 million a year.
“It’s an expensive investment,” he said. “If everyone is on board with that investment, then it would be great for the area.”
Huether disagrees. Sioux Falls expects to get $1 million to $2 million a year in naming rights. Tyson paid $5 million over 20 years. And unlike Sioux City, Sioux Falls has no plans to subsidize shows, which drives up the operating costs.
I don’t care if the place gets $200 million in naming rights a year, that is a subsidy, not a profit. A profit is when the facility generates enough revenue on it’s own to offset it’s expenses. And what if it does make money? Will that profit be put towards paying down the principal of the bond? And on top of all that, we have yet for a naming rights sponsor to step forward.