SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - The Sioux City Council is mulling a proposal for more than $60 million in upgrades to the Tyson Events Center.
The upgrades are aimed at helping the Sioux City venue better compete with event centers in Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the Sioux City Journal reported.
A consultant on Friday unveiled the proposed upgrades to the City Council and the city's Events Facility Advisory Board. They include adding everything from smartphone charging stations to a 15,000-square-foot atrium at the main entrance.
Less expensive additions included a walk-in convenience store for visitors to buy prepackaged food, a novelty stand, a new video board, and additional suites and open boxes in the back of the lower bowl.
More expensive projects included adding restrooms, relocating the sound room to open another suite, a place at the event level to move equipment in and out and possibly another club at the northwest corner.
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Big-ticket add-ons included expansions of the building's concourses and creating a 15,000-square-foot lobby entry that could house more restrooms, merchandise stands and concessions.
It could also be used as a functional space for social events, such as a large dinner, consultant Tom Williams said.
"That could be a game changer," he said.
There was some debate as to the merit of adding 1,000 or more seats to increase capacity.
But Williams said concert promoters have stressed that seats without additional amenities would not increase the Tyson Center's competitiveness with venues such as the Denny Sanford Premiere Center in Sioux Falls, the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, or the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
