SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — Sioux Falls businesses expect to cash in on curling.
The Olympic Curling Trials begin next week at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, attracting the top curlers from across the country competing to represent Team USA in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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The economic benefits of hosting such a prestigious sporting event extend far beyond the ice inside the PREMIER Center.
The sport of curling still involves a learning curve within the Sioux Falls business community.
“I know there’s a big rock involved and definitely a broom, it looks like it’s hard on the knees,” Blue Rock Bar & Grill Director of Operations Rich Drawdy said.
But the rock that really matters to Rich Drawdy is the Blue Rock Bar and Grill and what kind of customer traffic his establishment will see with the Olympic Curling Trials.
“Any time you can attract a big event like that and see traffic coming down the I-29 corridor, they going to be stopping, looking for something to eat and hopefully, they choose Blue Rock Bar & Grill,” Drawdy said.
The Blue Rock is located in the Sanford Sports Complex and sees a lot of customers connected to events taking place at venues like the Sanford Pentagon, The SCHEELS IcePlex and Huether Family Match Pointe.
“All those things built out and not to mention, we also have Virtual Care across the street. So, the more we see with the build-out here, the more traffic we get, and it’s been good,” Drawdy said.
The Blue Rock also draws customers from events at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, where the Olympic Trials will be taking place.
“Any time there’s a concert in town, people like to park out here and get shuttle rides across to the Denny, just as a nice, easy option to stay on the north side of town. But then again, it’s a happy hour spot before the game, before the concert,” Drawdy said.
The Blue Rock has seating for up to 500 people spread out over three dining spaces, so there will be plenty of room for curling fans to enjoy a meal here. The Blue Rock is also touting its updated menu. Meanwhile, across the parking lot, another business is getting ready for the curlers and their fans.
Welcoming guests for the Olympics trials will be a first-time experience for the staff at the Comfort Inn & Suites.
“It’s different clientele. What we have here is a lot of hockey parents coming for a weekend. Softball parents. Soccer parents coming for the weekend. This is going to be a little bit different. This is going to be for coming to watch professionals play,” Comfort Inn & Suites General Manager Ryder Wilson said.
General Manager Ryder Wilson says officiating crews with the Olympic trials have rooms booked at his hotel.
“I have the line judges staying with me. There’s a lot of transient picking up for specifically that final weekend of the finals that we’re seeing,” Wilson said.
The hotel is highlighting its amenities for the curling faithful who will be checking in.
“We’ve got a sports lounge and a pizza lounge right off the lobby right there. We have fire pits right here, with the patio, where they can go to the curling event, they can come back, they get get a frozen pizza, grab a beer and enjoy a true weekend of something that Sioux Falls has never experienced,” Wilson said.
The local hospitality industry places a premium on the guest experience regardless of what brings out-of-towners to Sioux Falls. And businesses here have no reservations about what kind of impact the Olympic Trials will bring.
“It is on a professional scale. It is on a global scale. So it’s going to be very exciting,” Wilson said.
The businesses we spoke with say the MarketBeat Open, which drew professional tennis players to the Huether Family Match Pointe last month, was good preparation for what to expect with the upcoming Olympic Curling Trials that run from November 11th to the 16th.
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