June 28, 2024

Philanthropist Denny Sanford has pledged $25 million to support major improvements at the Great Plains Zoo, including a new aquarium and rainforest.

The donation is “a transformative gift to put us on the path to success,” Great Plains Zoo CEO Becky Dewitz said, announcing the donation at the zoo’s annual fundraiser Thursday night.

The gift will be matched funds to help support the zoo’s additional fundraising in support of a $56 million capital campaign. Within that donation also is funding for the newly opened splash pad, now called the Denny Sanford Family Splash Pad.

It opened about a month ago, and the new lion exhibit followed Thursday.

Lions return to the Great Plains Zoo after decades-long absence

“We were a good zoo, and now we’re a great zoo,” said Sanford, who spoke at the event. “This is special for South Dakota. We are so lucky to have a team that could put this whole thing together.”

The aquarium and rainforest are identified in the zoo’s newly drafted master plan, which is set to be voted on by the Sioux Falls City Council later this year. They would be built within the zoo’s existing main building, helping complete a merger between the zoo and the Butterfly House & Aquarium, which had planned for an expansion at Sertoma Park that was limited in scope because of flood-control issues.

The aquarium concept is about 25,000 square feet, including an upper mezzanine, and would broaden what the aquarium could offer, including a full shark tank, rays, corals and a jellyfish gallery, plus an adjacent rainforest with butterflies, tropical plants and wildlife.

The broader master plan goal is to increase the zoo’s attendance from about 250,000 annually to more than 400,000. The facility already is a driver of quality of life that appeals to businesses considering expansion in the city as well as the necessary workforce to support it, Mayor Paul TenHaken said.

“The zoo is always one of the first stops we show people, and they are blown away that we have a zoo of this caliber,” he said. “This zoo is built on public-private partnerships. There are so many philanthropic dollars at work in this zoo.”

Sanford’s contribution will go a long way toward accomplishing the first phase of the master plan, though a final cost hasn’t been determined because it’s still in design.

Other phases of the master plan include improvements to the giraffe exhibit, the longtime “mountain” at the center of the zoo and numerous other areas in need of what Dewitz calls a “re-zoo-ventation.”

Assuming the funding and construction come together, zoo leaders said earlier this year that the soonest an aquarium would open is 2027. The master plan is designed to look out 10 to 15 years.

“It’s exciting, it’s bold, and it’s exactly what we need for our community,” Dewitz said.

Great Plains Zoo’s new master plan includes aquarium, enhanced exhibits