Sioux Falls comes through

Cooperation the name of the game in South Dakota's SI Sportstown

By Andrew Schulman

Across America, local parks and recreation departments partner and cooperate with local groups and sports organizations that help them operate more efficiently and cost-effectively. In Sioux Falls, S.D., they have elevated cooperation to an art form and that has allowed Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation to offer its residents top-quality facilities and programming -- and has earned the city the title of Sports Illustrated Sportstown.

A model of efficiency, the city uses a small staff to oversee its myriad sports and recreation offerings for both youth and adults. To help shoulder the load, the city works with 26 different athletic associations, four semipro teams, five high schools, and two colleges and allows each entity manage its own sport(s).

“We believe that this method of administration creates tremendous community support and participation at the lowest possible expenditure of tax dollars,” said Ken Freisen, Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation's sports coordinator. “Many of our sports organization partners have been around for quite a while, and they are great partners.”

All of the above organizations work with one full-time recreation staffer who schedules the activities and oversees maintenance of city-owned facilities. The City Sports Coordinator is also in charge of indoor and outdoor volleyball programs, open gyms, special tournaments that come to the city and indoor adult basketball leagues. In addition to these sports and other standard fare, city residents can also take part in some interesting options: alpine skiing, snowshoeing, disc golf, stunt BMX bicycling and dodgeball (just for kids).

If programming is one priority for Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation, another is clearly its facilities. Over the past five years, the city has spent almost $9 million building and upgrading its sports facilities and has more than $12 million set aside toward its master plan for the next five years. In addition, the city employs 29 full-time and 70 seasonal employees maintain the area’s fields, parks and courts.

Sioux Falls now boasts South Dakota’s largest soccer complex -- a 16-field venue -- as well as a new, 15-field baseball/softball complex, a separate seven-field youth baseball complex, two skate parks and enlarged gymnasiums at several elementary schools.

Sioux Falls takes where it plays its sports almost as seriously as the sports themselves. And similar to the programming side, the facilities are managed by outside groups to keep taxpayer costs down and make the most of the organization’s budget.

Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation is also fortunate to have a supportive Park Board and City Council, which sees the value in funding the group.

“We owe a lot of our success and ability to keep up with the needs of our residents to the Park Board and City Council,” said Friesen. “With their support -- and the support of the entire community -- Sioux Falls has great facilities and great programming.”