Oct. 13, 2022

Sioux Falls delivered a picture-perfect day not long ago for the first softball tournament to play at The Diamonds, the newly finished 18-field addition to the Sanford Sports Complex.

And while the S&C Sioux Falls Showcase brought a destination event to the fields, since September about 200 kids also had participated in fall baseball there.

“The comments from kids were really fun to hear,” said Steve Young, president of Sanford Sports. “They’re certainly enjoying the space.”

The turfed fields accommodate baseball, softball and soccer, and give the Sanford Sports Complex greater year-round play when the weather isn’t as friendly as it has been this fall.

“It gives you the ability to play games in the shoulder seasons and spring and fall, where the city previously didn’t have the opportunity,” Young said, adding the calls for events have been “continuous” as word about the fields has spread.

“For the events team out here, it’s trying to put that puzzle together for the events calendar of what that’s going to look like, but there’s lots of interest,” he said. “Some regionally, within the city and others outside that, so there’s a lot of interest from groups coming in here to play on those fields.”

At 170 acres, the new fields encompass much of the broader 500-acre sports complex. There’s also a section reserved for future fields.

Both the fields and Sanford’s Virtual Care Center that recently broke ground on the west side of the complex on the west side of Westport Avenue were funded with more than $650 million in donations from philanthropist T. Denny Sanford.

The future cyber campus for Dakota State University occupies the land south of the Sanford Virtual Care Center. A new Comfort Inn & Suites next to Blue Rock Bar & Grill is under construction and scheduled to open next year.

“To the north, we have discussions with a variety of folks, whether that be more hotels, residential, mixed use, office space, retail, light retail, quick-service restaurants,” Young said. “And the remainder really is north of Great Shots along Westport and then everything west of the facilities you see today – the Pentagon, Match Pointe, the IcePlex.”

All those facilities have contemplated or are planning some type of growth. Even the Pentagon, with its 3,250-seat arena and nine basketball courts, is sharing court space between two of its core sports, volleyball and basketball, “and they’re growing like crazy,” said Jesse Smith, vice president of operations for the Sanford Sports Complex.

“We have an internal struggle trying to find time and space to get their work done and with our events team trying to host events.”

The facility also continues to diversify its programming. A live MMA event taking place Friday night will be featured on the virtual reality platform Meta Horizon Worlds, where fans can enter a virtual environment and see and talk with other fans while enjoying VR views of the action.

But virtual reality isn’t enough to accommodate everyone who wants in at the Pentagon. There is enough land to expand the facility. There’s also continued demand at the Sanford Fieldhouse.

“I believe we’re going to grow as the city continues to grow,” Young said. “The opportunities for kids will continue to grow. I think there’s a need for more indoor turf and at some point increased court space as well.”

Sanford also continues to hear calls for more dining and coffee options at the complex, he added.

“We take that to heart,” he said. “We have to be very intentional, but every decision we make, whether it’s internal projects or the partners we’re inviting to be on the campus, it has to match our focus, which is to create an environment that does two things.”

Those are enhance community well-being and opportunities for people to engage in sports and sporting events, as well as offer a way for aspiring athletes to transform – whether it’s making a varsity high school team or becoming a professional athlete.

“It just feels like there’s another wave of momentum out here,” Smith said. “It’s just a great time right now and feels like another shot of energy pushing forward.”

With the new fields, Sanford expects more than 1 million new visitors to the complex in the next five years.

“They’re amazing,” Young said. “When you drive by here today compared to 2.5 years ago, you see quite a transformation, and it’s certainly been a lot of fun to watch. I see a lot of hope and opportunity.”