Avera Health to build $14 million sports training complex in southern Sioux Falls

Jeremy Fugleberg | Argus Leader

Avera on Wednesday announced plans for a $14 million sports training complex on its massive 69th and Louise campus.

The 60,000-square-foot complex will be known as the Human Performance Center. Construction will begin this fall and the center is scheduled to open in Decemeber 2019.

The center will be the third major development on the campus, and will be situated on the 82-acre campus' southwest corner, facing Louise Avenue.

A surgical hospital and medical building are now under construction on the campus, with an adjacent Avera Addiction Center also in progress. All currently planned facilities will be open by the end of 2019.

"Next fall will be an exciting time, when all three of these facilitates are up and running," said David Flicek, CEO and President of Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center. "It'll be a health destination for that area, a lot of folks will be heading to that side of town.

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The facility will house a sports medicine clinic and a therapy gym that will include an anti-gravity treadmill, Pilates equipment, isokinetic balance equipment, a gait-analysis treadmill with 3-D motion capture system, as well as an underwater treadmill and aquatic therapy pool. the complex will include seven volleyball courts for those involved with Avera Sports Kairos Elite Volleyball, and a nutrition bar.

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The building will be home to Athletic Republic, Avera’s sports performance training program in Sioux Falls. This area includes a biomechanics lab, cardio equipment room, performance weight room, cycling room, turf and plyometrics floor. Specialized equipment includes super treadmills and a hockey treadmill. This area includes a room for movement classes such as yoga, Pilates, tai chi and more. It will be also be home to AR-FIT classes.

A future phase will include new basketball courts for programs including Avera Sports Warwick Workouts and South Dakota Attack.

Avera currently plans to keep other sports locations in Sioux Falls including the Avera Sports Dome near 41st Street and West Avenue and the Avera Sports Center near 85th and Minnesota.

The surgical hospital and medical building on the Avera on Louise campus will feature orthopedics and sports medicine among other specialties. Flicek said orthopedic and sports medicine clinics will move from the main Avera campus to the new campus.

This obviously won't be the last announcement for the huge Avera on Louise development, which will become an "economic hub" for that part of Sioux Falls, Flicek said.

"We're always planning for future growth," he said. "This community is growing continually, so I think if you don't get in front of it, you get behind it."

A second phase of the Human Performance Center, still under development, will include basketball courts for programs including Avera Sports Warwick Workouts and South Dakota Attack, as well as other amenities. The timeline for a second phase isn't yet set, but the need is already there as Avera's heavily used facilities, Avera officials say.

"Ultimately I'd like to get an indoor track," said said Dr. Jonathan Buchanan, sports medicine specialist with Avera Orthopedics in Sioux Falls. "That's on my wish list, absolutely."