Sioux Falls Stampede

The Sioux Falls Stampede are a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Stampede are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the Denny Sanford Premier Center, the largest facility in capacity and size in the USHL. The team was established in 1999 and is owned by Sioux Falls Sports LLC. The Stampede have qualified for the Clark Cup playoffs in fifteen of twenty seasons. The team holds three Clark Cup championships, winning most recently in the 2018–19 season, two conference and one division championships, and was awarded the Anderson Cup in the 2005–06 season for the league's highest win percentage. The organization holds the USHL single-season attendance record at 200,597 fans over the 2015–16 season and are a five-time USHL organization of the year recipient. Thirty-six former players have skated in the National Hockey League (NHL). History Foundation Discussions began as early as 1994 to bring a United States Hockey League (USHL) expansion to the city of Sioux Falls. Expansion talks failed on three separate occasions, including a bid by Wisconsin Capitols owner Geoffrey Kelley to relocate to Sioux Falls, due to the city's failure to provide a permanent home and publicly-backed funds. The Minnehaha Ice and Recreation Center and Expo Ice Arena at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds were in contention to host the team, however, both lacked sufficient locker rooms or accommodations for fans to meet league demands. The Sioux Falls Arena was also presented as an option, but was written off due to poor sight lines and potential scheduling conflicts with other tenants.