Business View Magazine | September 2022

163 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 9 DENNY SANFORD PREMI ER CENTER for the next 10 years. Along with that, the city purchasing manager and the entire city facilities divisions… their relationships with local contractors are top notch.” Besides the potential expansion of the convention center, other capital improvement projects included the replacement of all entrance vestibules and doors, a project which was completed by Sunkota Construction. Local company Muth Electric was recently brought in to update all the lighting in the convention center from incandescent to LED, which Johnson reports will result in “tremendous utility savings.” Daktronics, a global provider of large format LED display options, is in the process of upgrading the facility’s video system and center hung scoreboard. Working to keep as many people employed as possible during the pandemic, Denny Sanford PREMIER Center took the opportunity to focus not only on capital improvement projects, but also general maintenance and cleaning throughout the facility. According to Johnson, “We worked on a lot of projects that you typically don’t have a week-long window available in a convention center to take care of. So that was our focus, to get the building back looking like it was brand new.” Maintaining relationships within the entertainment industry was also a priority, as well as developing new procedures and efficiencies as the industry began to see a return to larger numbers. “Recently, we’ve decided to continue with a cashless model at concession stands,” says Johnson. “We have seen with the events we have brought back that it greatly decreases transaction time. You can reduce staffing a little bit, and not have to worry about making change. We have also been keeping our safety and cleaning procedures intact that we implemented during the pandemic. A lot of it has been appreciated by our patrons.” Although Denny Sanford PREMIER Center has