The city council of Rapid City passed a 7-3 vote on Monday nights, approving a $180 million dollar arena upgrade at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. This new arena would replace the current Barnett Arena. This project is now advancing to a public vote.
Opponents to the proposed arena upgrade will need to acquire 2,000 signatures by 5 pm on Jan. 2 if they want to halt this move. A petition is already being passed around.
If the arena upgrade project is delayed further, the cost could increase to a greater amount, which would make future plans of building a new arena tougher.
Sioux Falls opened a brand new facility, the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, in the fall of 2014. Rapid City is attempting to follow the same path in keeping their community competitive for hosting future entertainment and sporting events. The next step in the process is to wait till January, and see if opponents can get the 2,000 required signatures. If the signatures are not gathered in time, it will go to a public vote.
