Summit Arena to become an economic engine for decades

By Michelle Pawelski

Construction is on schedule with a goal of turning over Summit Arena to officials at the end of September. Just in time to prepare for the Arena's inaugural event: the Black Hills Powwow. “As one of our founding events, we are really excited about having them (as the first event),” said Priscilla Dominguez, director of corporate sales and marketing for The Monument. “Their objective was to be No. 1 in ‘21 being the biggest powwow in the states, and I think they are on target for that.”

When doors open, the new facility will feature seating for more than 11,000, a 75- foot concert grid, a loading dock that can handle 15 – 20 semis, upgraded sound and lighting technology, open socializing areas, and four elevators along with a drop off at the main level, and more.

Dominguez said the goal of the new arena is to make The Monument a bigger economic engine for the area by expanding yearly events and attracting new, bigger acts. “We already see a great economic impact from our events like the Powwow, Stock Show, Rodeo Rapid City and LNI. All those annual events are what we consider founding events. We want those to grow and bring more people in. Then we have the flashy events, major concerts, and big stage shows. Those typically bring in an audience that is not from the region.” People traveling for an event will likely stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, and buy gas along with other shopping, she said. “If they spend their money in our community, it only helps our community. It allows us to have a Vision Fund.”

by Grace Pritchett, Rapid City Journal

The $130 million for the new arena is funded completely from the city’s Vision Fund, a half-cent sales tax that helped build the original civic center and Barnett Arena in 1975. In 2018, voters approved using Vision Funds for the new arena. “There had been a look to the future to find a replacement for what we have and how to make it the most cost effective,” Dominguez said. While the Barnett Arena provided a tremendous economic stimulus for more than 40 years, the outdated design, lack of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and limited flexibility with seating began to cause attendance to drop and hurt the city’s ability to book artists that other nearby cities attracted. “It has been a need on the horizon,” she said. “We are prime routing between Sioux Falls and Billings and needed a building that could seat 10,000 or more and have the rigging capabilities to do those large shows.”

While the arena has the capacity for large shows, its telescopic seating allows flexibility in sizing down to smaller events, something the Barnett did not provide. Craig Baltzer, executive director of The Monument, said the 17,000-square-foot floor can be pushed back to 31,000-square-feet providing more floor space than Denver's Ball Arena. Baltzer also said most concert venues require 65 feet floor to ceiling. The 75 feet at the Summit will provide adequate accommodations for the next 30 years, he said.

Improvements have been made over the four decades since the building of the original Barnett Arena including the addition of Rushmore Hall, the food court and the ice arena, however, the Summit Arena is by far the largest project Rapid City has seen, nearly doubling the square footage of the entire complex, Dominquez said. “I think the community has done a great job in expanding over the years, however, nothing to this extent.”

On June 21, 1977, Elvis Presley played to a sold-out crowd becoming the first artist of many to play at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. In the years since, the civic center and Barnett Arena have exceeded expectations attracting tournaments, sports teams, musicians and many other events. Just as the Barnett Arena did 40 years ago, officials believe the Summit Arena will exceed expectations, becoming an economic engine and adding to the quality of life of the Rapid City region for decades to come.