A new, multi-purpose sports complex in South Dakota

TEA, S.D. (KELO) – Tea may be the new home to a multi-purpose, 85,000-square-foot indoor sports complex.

During the city council’s April 15 meeting, council members reviewed a feasibility report for the possibility of building the sports facility. The report was written by Pinnacle Indoor Sports, a Kentucky-based company.

Justin Weiland, Tea’s city administrator, said the sports complex would serve as a tournament destination and event venue, but the main reason the city wants the facility is to provide a space for the community.

“This facility would be an opportunity to pursue and provide additional quality of life amenities to the residents of Tea, an indoor athletic facility that could be accessed by all members of the public,” Weiland said. “The intent of this is to provide for our community. It’s an amenity for our youth, our elderly.”

During the course of the study, Pinnacle determined that a sports facility would indeed benefit Tea due to the city’s need for indoor, yearlong recreation space, event venues and meeting regional sports tourism needs.

“For communities such as the City of Tea that pursue sports tourism for economic impact purposes, room nights, direct spending and new tax revenues generated from tournament and events are viewed as an attractive return on investment driven by spending at hotels, restaurants, retail stores and other local businesses,” the report read.

According to the report, in order for a company to build a facility in Tea, the city would need to have sufficient hotels for tournament season. Sports and tournament participation in the city must also continue trending toward pre-pandemic levels and partnerships with local sports teams should be established for a mix of league play, instructional classes, clinics and camps.

Pinnacle’s recommendations for the multipurpose sports complex include six basketball courts, 12 volleyball courts, an elevated walking track, one synthetic turf field, concessions, offices and court space for pickleball, futsal, dance, gymnastics, wrestling and other mat sports.

As part of their report, Pinnacle looked at population, sports teams and similar facilities in a 30-minute, 90-minute, 2.5-hour, 3.5-hour and 4.5-hour radius. 9.7-million people live within 4.5 hours of Tea, which includes Minneapolis, Omaha and Des Moines.

“While projected population growth is a positive factor, the operators of a proposed facility will need to make marketing/selling both the facility itself and the Tea region to travel teams a priority in order to establish the proposed complex as a high-quality tournament location,” the report read.

Weiland said the Pinnacle report was just the first step in the process for building the sports complex and it will still be a few years before it’s completed. He said the city doesn’t currently own any suitable property, so acquiring land, meeting with architects and holding public input sessions are the next steps.

“There’s a lot of homework that has to be done before anybody’s making decisions on this,” he said. “This is an idea that the city feels there is an opportunity. I think the study proves that there is capacity in our region to have a facility like be successful.”

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