Sneak preview: Jacobson Plaza opens next week

Get ready to splash, climb, slide, swing — and bring your dog. Jacobson Plaza will open downtown next week.

Opening day will be Monday for all elements of the plaza at 810 N. Phillips Ave. in Falls Park West, adjacent to Levitt Shell and The Steel District development. An opening-day celebration will begin at 6 p.m.

The city’s largest playground, fully accessible to children of all abilities, will offer play equipment for all ages.

The largest splash pad in town, the T. Denny Sanford Splash Pad, will provide a variety of water features for kids, color-changing lights and seating for adults. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

The large Pawsible Park will be an off-leash artificial turf dog park with a sanitizing system, seating, shade, a drinking fountain and separate spaces for small and large dogs.

The ice ribbon — which will open for ice-skating on refrigerated ice before the end of the year — also will be operational for roller-skating and other activities.

The open-air shelter will be available for gatherings.

Park hours will be 5 a.m. to midnight.

The Lodge Bar & Grill opened this spring in part of the warming house.

Starting Monday, hours will expand to 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The restaurant provides dining space inside and on the patio. The Lodge offers an event room that can be reserved for small meetings or parties.

Jacobson Plaza is a public-private partnership with the Garry and Dianne Jacobson family serving as lead donors and significant contributions from Denny Sanford and the Craig and Pat Lloyd family.

“I think it’s turning out wonderful,” Garry Jacobson said. “The city has provided me fabulous opportunities and a lot of kind people helped me in business, and I wanted to pay back — and the family was all in favor.”

He has made frequent trips to the site watching the progress.

“I’m an interested investor,” he joked. “I’m very interested that it’s top shelf. It’s the best that can be possible for the city of Sioux Falls.”

What to expect

The city’s parks and recreation team has two full-time employees dedicated to programming the area from the Falls Park Farmers Market shelter south to Fawick Park, including Jacobson Plaza.

Programming is designed for all ages and to offer variety, said Jackie Nelson, recreation manager.

A senior fitness class started in mid-March at Jacobson Plaza, followed by a spring cornhole league. There will be additional leagues for summer and fall.

“We’re building in some plaza play times for kids — think playground programs but at Jacobson Plaza,” Nelson said. “They’re more structured, with different themes. One is Splish Splash & Play, another is Bugs & Butterfly Bonanza, so when parents come, they may want to play on the playground, but we’ll have a structured activity going on.”

There will be several activities at the plaza around the Fourth of July holiday, including an open cornhole tournament Wednesday and a patriotic bike parade Thursday.

Until winter arrives, the concrete surface of the ice ribbon will be used for morning walking activities, designated times for inline- or roller-skating and remote-control car races.

The Nextgen Market, similar to an event that used to be held at McKennan Park, will be at Jacobson Plaza on July 26.

Where to park

City officials encourage visitors to Jacobson Plaza to explore multiple parking options. There is some surface parking at the park as well as nearby diagonal parking. There’s also ramp parking at The Steel District nearby, parking at Falls Park and multiple options in the area of Sixth Street.

For a map of nearby options, visit here.

First element of Jacobson Plaza brings more dining to Falls Park this week