■ TEAMS (FIRST SEASON): American Association Sioux Falls Canaries (1993), NBA D-League Sioux Falls Skyforce (1989), IFL Sioux Falls Storm (2000)
■ VENUES (YEAR OPENED): Sioux Falls Stadium (1941, renovated 2000), Pentagon by Sanford Health (2013), Denny Sanford Premier Center (2014)
The smallest economy in terms of total wealth and least-populated market in this year’s top 10 ranked No. 10 in our 2013 study largely because total attendance in the market increased by 5 percent over the survey’s measured five-year period, a rate that was just a bit above its population growth metric. Additionally, all three teams in the city had registered record or near-record attendance in their most recent seasons.
This time around, the Canaries, Skyforce and Storm averaged 267,000 fans per year over their past three seasons, up 47 percent compared with what they averaged across their two years prior. Compared to a population growth rate that was 5 percent over that same, most recent three-year span, it was a ratio unmatched in the study.
The strong attendance numbers were generated at least in part by the construction of two new arenas over the past two years. The Skyforce moved into the Pentagon by Sanford Health in 2013 and has filled 91 percent of its seats since then, according to the team. The Storm moved into the new Denny Sanford Premier Center this spring and saw its attendance increase by one-third to 6,226 fans per game. Only the AFL Spokane Shock (8,034 per game) and IFL Iowa Barnstormers (6,421) had a better average attendance among football teams in our study.
As for the Canaries, the independent league team has averaged 143,819 fans per season over the past three years, up 45 percent compared with the previous three years.
