WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury to play historic preseason game at Sanford Pentagon in April
Posted: March 23, 2026
The Sanford Pentagon will host an unprecedented event in South Dakota on April 25, when the Phoenix Mercury face the Chicago Sky, in the first WNBA game played in the state.
Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. CT at ticketmaster.com.
“Bringing the WNBA to Sioux Falls and the Sanford Pentagon has been a dream of ours for years,” said Jesse Smith, vice president of Sanford Sports. “We want to thank the WNBA and the Phoenix Mercury for showcasing the league and the Mercury team to the youth basketball players in our region and our passionate fans at the Pentagon.”
The Mercury’s visit to South Dakota marks a homecoming for head coach Nate Tibbetts, who grew up in the Sioux Falls area, played at the University of South Dakota and coached for the University of Sioux Falls and the NBA G League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce. His father, Fred Tibbetts, coached high school girls and women’s collegiate basketball in South Dakota for more than 30 years, winning an unprecedented 11 high school state championships. Mercury assistant coach Megan Vogel also has local ties as a standout player at South Dakota State, finishing her career second on the program’s all-time scoring list.
As part of the trip to bring Mercury basketball to Sioux Falls, the team will host a youth basketball clinic at the Sanford Pentagon on Friday, April 24. The clinic is for girls in grades 3-8 and will be led by Mercury players and coaches in conjunction with the Sanford Sports Academy. Registration is limited to 150 athletes and is open now at https://bit.ly/3NBY5U3. The Sanford Sports Academy has multiple locations across the upper Midwest, offering year-round programming and teams.
Since opening in 2013, the Sanford Pentagon has hosted more than 100 Division I college basketball games along with multiple NCAA DII and NAIA national championships. The Minnesota Timberwolves played the Milwaukee Bucks in a preseason NBA game on Oct. 10, 2013, one of the first events held at the Sanford Pentagon. The Pentagon is also home of the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the G League affiliate of the Miami Heat.
