Well, I don’t know the answer to that question. BUT, I have speculated quite often on this. I have often argued that the Denty has actually been a financial drain on our city, and not just in a mortgage payment.
So why is it with so many people coming to Sioux Falls for sold out shows at the Denty the entertainment tax has been dropping?
My theory is that more and more people are dropping their entertainment dollars on tickets at the Denty, those dollars go directly to the artists and promoters and directly out of town. In other words, they are not spending that money on authentic local entertainment. Not only has it caused collections to go down, it is NOT getting recirculated in the community.
While it is nice we can see world class acts in Sioux Falls now, it has acted like a vacuum taking money out of the coffers of local entertainment.
Ironically the Mayor had a press conference today peddling more lies about how ‘profitable’ the Denty has been. He said that after operational costs, it made $2.1 million PROFIT last year. Ironically they never discuss the $10 million mortgage we pay out of our 2nd penny road tax. They also don’t mention that the city only holds the account on this FAUX profit that SMG controls. In other words, the city coffers (us) never sees the $2.1 million left over after operational expenses. The only money we take in at the end of the day is the $1.9 million in sales taxes it generated last year, which still leaves us far in the hole after paying the mortgage.
He also thanks the voters for passing the Denty with a FAKE, non-legally binding advisory vote. If the voters would have had a LEGAL bond vote on the EC, it would have never passed.
