Should this news come as some kind of surprise?
Sioux Falls will miss out on hosting a pair of youth sports tournaments and the millions of dollars in economic benefit that comes with them.
Other cities with newer facilities and unique fan amenities outshone Sioux Falls when the city went to bid for hosting the same softball and soccer tournaments it has held in the past. Sioux Falls even offered more cash to tournament operators than any other city, but it didn’t make a difference.
“We’re always in second place,†said Teri Schmidt, executive director of the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitor Bureau, which submitted bids on behalf of the city’s youth sports organizations.
Better not let MMM hear you say that Teri. This is San Antonio, gosh darn it, uh, I mean Sioux Falls, we should be first in everything!
There are a lot of factors why SF loses these kind of events. Bigger facilities, bigger cities, better weather, location, air travel, more lodging (remember the last time we had that soccer tournament, people had to lodge in Sioux City). A new bigger arena  isn’t going to bring BETTER and BIGGER tournaments and conventions in. There is just some things Sioux Falls cannot provide, as I mentioned above. We are what we are, and once people like Teri and MMM realize this, we can focus on what WE ARE accessible to and capable of.
There seems to be this attitude that we need to shoot high, and if we miss, make a bunch of excuses. Sioux Falls should be trying to attain ALL kinds of tournaments. Tournaments THAT WE CAN ACCOMODATE.
Any kind of tax revenue being brought to our city is a good thing, big or small, but it seems we just want to continue to ‘think big’ and hope it pays off. I say ‘think medium’ and do it often, and it will pay off.