BROOKINGS — The Swiftel Center in Brookings was officially renamed the Dacotah Bank Center during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

The new 10-year deal is worth $150,000 per year, for a total of $1.5 million. That chunk of change is quite a bit more than what the center’s prior agreement with Swiftel/Brookings Municipal Utilities netted, which was $50,000 per year.

Councilors approved the change by a 7-0 vote following a presentation by the center’s general manager Michael Logan. The naming transition is expected to take months, and that process brought a question from Councilor Bonny Specker.

“I like OVG handling the Swiftel Center and I hope that lasts for a long time, but what if your partnership with the city doesn’t last?” she asked. “Is the agreement between the city and Dacotah Bank or OVG and Dacotah Bank?”

OVG360 is the center’s operator and is a division of the Oak View Group. It has managed the center since August 2021.

“The agreement is with OVG and Dacotah Bank, but … if our management agreement ends, it transfers to the next manager,” Logan said. “I’ll use an example: We have many partners that were signed with the previous manager of the facility that we still have to this day, and those agreements transferred to us.”

Councilor Holly Tilton Byrne asked about efforts being undertaken to help people become accustomed to the new name.

Logan said efforts will include using marketing services through the building to continue to push the Dacotah Bank Center name in the form of announcing “a ton of new events and keep pushing that name as much as possible.”

“As we shifted management at the center, one of our hopes was that we could find new or increased revenue opportunities,” Councilor Nick Wendell said. “I think this is a really good example of an innovative way to earn some additional revenue for the center.”

Praise was also heard from City Manager Paul Briseno. “The Swiftel Center is a diverse facility that provides a positive economic impact to the city of Brookings by hosting live events, banquets, meetings, consumer and trade shows, conferences and conventions,” he said in the center’s release. “We’re pleased to announce this local partnership.”

The center, which opened in 2001, can seat up to 6,000 guests and offers a 30,000 square foot arena. It offers banquet and conference rooms along with in-house catering. Over the years it has hosted shows, trade shows, weddings, graduations and rodeos.events such as concerts, family

“With community support and viability as key tenets of Dacotah Bank’s mission, we are excited to be the naming partner to ensure Brookings and our region has a flourishing live events operation,” Dacotah Bank Brookings Market President Steve Carnes said in the release. “We look forward to having people from near and far enjoy Brookings’ offerings while enjoying events at the Dacotah Bank Center.”

Branch Creek plans

On a 7-0 vote, councilors OK’d the preliminary plat for Branch Creek Addition. This proposed housing development, with a smaller commercial component, is on 20.23 acres of land just south of 20th Street South between the Fishback Soccer complex and the Bluegill Addition.

Fifteen blocks are included in the preliminary plat, with developers envisioning single-family homes and two-, three- or four-unit townhomes along with multiple streets and the aforementioned commercial component on the development’s north side along 20th Street South. Community Development Director Mike Struck said developers have plans for about 120 dwelling units within the development, adding that a city-required traffic impact study found the proposed development’s street network was sufficient to handle traffic flow.

“(The developers) are working with staff right now on the implementation of a potential eastbound right turn lane into the development (from 20th Street South) — it would kind of act as a deceleration lane so as traffic is heading eastbound it could slow down and get into the turn lane and turn into the development,” Struck noted. “There will be a designated right turn lane coming off of Branch Creek Avenue to go eastbound on 20th Street South, and the traffic impact study also provided some additional traffic-control mechanisms that can be looked at outside of this particular development that would be beneficial to that corridor in whole.”

Justin Bucher, a Banner Associates civil engineer who’s working with the developer, also spoke regarding drainage plans for the proposed development.

“We are planning … to have a pond contain a 100-year flow for the entire development,” he said. “Similarly, separately, the developer and the city are trying to work together to expand the soccer park pond adjacent to the site. If it works out, the developer is more than willing to expand that pond— kind of combine the two ponds together. That would allow for some greater benefit for the entire drainage area, which is approximately 1,000 acres.”

Bucher added, “The developers are really excited for this project, and we think there will be a lot of benefits to the community.”

— Contact Mondell Keck at mkeck@brookingsregister.com.