Bikers have already started descending on the Black Hills for the upcoming Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Now, the community of Sturgis prepares for hundreds of thousands of tourists.
With just days until the rally begins, it’s now time for months of planning by Sturgis municipal government to be put into action.
Deb Holland is the city communications director. She says for locals, it’s just another rally to plan around.
“It’s just part of the tradition of my life, I guess," Holland said. "I actually just got the vendor numbers this morning and we’re running just a little behind last year, so we’re hoping that’s going to pick up. That’s good revenue for the city and those people that put in all the time to make sure vendors are properly vetted and that they have their sales tax license.”
Indeed, Sturgis is a small western South Dakota community, and the rally is the single most important economic event for the city every year. Holland said it takes a year of planning to get the city ready.
“Sturgis has gotten expert at shifting around staff from other departments," Holland said. "You know, it’s the other duties as assigned to the Nth degree when the rally comes.”
Now with days to go, the concerns are ramping up.
“Thankfully, we had rain the other night but it was looking dire there for a while," Holland said. "We always worry about fire danger. Meade County has put in a burn ban, so there will be no open fires. Follow the rules, make sure you’re being fire safe because the rest of us live here.”
This year, the rally runs from Aug. 2 through Aug. 11.
One of the most contentious matters of this year’s Rally was a proposed AMA motorcycle race to be held inside city limits.
Holland said the initial proposal was panned by locals.
“The city was going to have to foot some of the bill for that race, to the tune of about $650,000," Holland said. "Well, the city itself is belt-tightening, so the citizens started to ask how can you maybe not pave my road, but you’re going to host this race? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Opposition outvoted support for the plan 2-to-1. However, AMA returned to the community with a second proposal.
“It wouldn’t cost the city anything," Holland said. "Initially it was going to be a half mile, and it would go around downtown. Well, we have two churches in our downtown and this race is on a Sunday. They modified the course, so it won’t go near the churches, and it doesn’t start until noon. So, that was much more palatable.”
The Sturgis T-T race is scheduled for Aug. 11.