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Sanford Center general manager says local staffing, events and stability are driving improvement
Summary
Bobby Anderson, Sanford Center general manager, told Beltrami County commissioners the venue reduced turnover, staged new community events and narrowed its 2024 operating loss to about $359,000 while pursuing additional bookings to cut county subsidy.
Bobby Anderson, general manager of the Sanford Center, told Beltrami County commissioners that stabilizing local staffing, rebuilding community engagement and improving finances are his priorities as the facility recovers from recent years of turnover and operational problems.
Anderson said he was promoted into the general manager role in 2023 and emphasized hiring people from the Bemidji area to reduce turnover and better reflect local needs. “I believe that people of Northern Minnesota, Bemidji community should be the ones running the facility,” Anderson said.
Anderson described several community-driven events launched or revived in 2024 and early 2025, including the BASH fishing derby, the Knights of Columbus Walleye Classic, a revived women’s expo and Babe’s Burnout car show. He said the car show attracted more than 6,000 people last year and that the women’s expo generated roughly $3,500 in donations for battered-women’s services and distributed thousands of donated clothing items to local shelters. He also said Sanford Center returned nearly $50,000 in concession earnings to local nonprofits in 2024 and offers a 30 percent rent discount for nonprofit users.
On finances, Anderson said the Sanford Center reported a $359,000 net loss for 2024 — “about $8,000 of what we had planned for the year” — and called it the facility’s second-best year historically. He said one large event, Unicon, produced survey-based economic-impact estimates of about $600,000 in direct spending in the Bemidji area during a two-week period; Anderson said that estimate was drawn from receipts and survey responses from contestants.
Commissioners asked about attendance and programming. Anderson estimated the Knights of Columbus Walleye Classic drew about 1,500 people this year. He said the Sanford Center hosts roughly 250–253 events a year, 36–40 university hockey games, about 2,000 hours of community ice time, and that some months have only a few open days when no events are booked.
Anderson said booking more concerts is a priority but acknowledged the national touring market is challenging in 2025 because many acts are limiting dates and favoring larger venues. He said he is working with a regional booking contact and promoters and is optimistic about improved booking activity in late 2025 and 2026.
Commissioners thanked Anderson for the presentation and raised operational items such as occasional hot-water problems (which Anderson said the facility is addressing by replacing water heaters) and use of the jumbotron replay during games. Commissioner Gold said the Sanford Center provides important economic activity for Bemidji and Beltrami County and described himself as a “proud supporter” of the venue.
Anderson closed by saying the facility will continue emphasizing community events that are free or low-cost to attendees to increase accessibility, grow repeat “homegrown” events and improve the center’s financial position.
