Summit League Tournament Breaks Records at Sioux Falls Arena

The numbers are in  - and they're big!

Last month's, Summit League Basketball Championships shattered attendance records at the Sioux Falls Arena, and brought some serious money to the local economy.

The 2013 tournament - the sixth straight in Sioux Falls - had an overall attendance of  44,868 fans, surpassing 2012's record-breaking crowds by more than 4,000.  The men's combined tournament attendance drew 23,710 and topped the previous record set in 1987. The women's tournament total of 21,158 shattered last season's record by over 3,300 fans. The men's final was the highest attended since the tournament started in Sioux Falls, and the women's final set an all-time record of 6,153.

All of those people were spending money in Sioux Falls as well.  According to a press release from the Sioux Falls Sports Authority, direct and indirect spending on transportation, food, entertainment, shopping, organizer spending, and related taxes equated to over $2,000,000 in economic impact for the city.

Wes Hall, Executive Director of the Sports Authority, said:

The success of the tournament speaks volumes to the commitment that our community puts forward to host such a great event every year and we should all be proud of what we accomplished.

In the same release, Teri Ellis-Schmidt from the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau, said:

Sioux Falls is very fortunate to be the host city for the Summit League Tournament!

We are given the opportunity to share our vibrant community with people from all over the country while gaining economic impact from the spending taking place by these visitors.

The Summit League Tournament has one more year in the Sioux Falls Arena before moving to the new Denny Sanford Premier Events Center in March of 2015.