BEMIDJI -- The event center on the shores of Lake Bemidji has been the subject of dialogue during Bemidji City Council meetings and elections for more than a decade.
On Monday evening, the full history and anticipated future of the city-owned Sanford Center will be reviewed.
A work session has been scheduled for the Council to examine the event center's board of directors, the contract the city has with the Ames, Iowa-based management company VenuWorks and others, as well as the possibility of a new task force for the building. The meeting comes just months after the building finished celebrating its 10-year anniversary.
Opened in 2010, the Sanford Center is the 193,000 square-foot home to BSU's hockey programs. It includes an arena with more than 4,000 seats and conference space. VenuWorks has managed the building since it opened and the Council approved a contract in 2018 for the company to continue its work through 2024.
Originally, the building was known as the Bemidji Regional Event Center, before Sanford became the naming rights sponsor. In 2006, by a vote of 2,227-2,182, Bemidji residents voted to approve extending a half-center sales tax to assist with the facility's construction.
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Operating expenses and maintenance of the facility are covered by property taxes from the city. For the last 10 years, city elected officials and staff have advocated for a hospitality tax to collect more outside dollars to relieve some of those property taxes.
In looking to the future, the concept of a task force will be on the agenda. The task force would consider the Sanford Center board's structure, creative performance metrics for the building, and ongoing reviews of tax revenue and existing contracts.
The work session is set to start at 5:30 p.m., tonight, May 24. The meeting can be viewed on the city's website .
