Guest post: Sturgis Rally® and public in a toxic relationship

Editor's note: this interested party endured thirty Rallies. 

Richelle Bruch is a Sturgis resident and real estate broker. The following appears at her Faceberg page.

Sturgis 85: In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

It’s been a week since the rumble and the roar of the 85th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally echoed its way back home. I’ve worked and walked Main Street for many rallies, and this year left me with a few thoughts, opinions, and maybe a couple observations that are none of my business, but I noticed anyway.

One thing stood out this year: downtown traffic seemed lighter. I don’t say that based on official numbers or reports, but from what I saw. More open motorcycle parking spots, lighter foot traffic, and businesses that weren’t as slammed as they’ve been in the past. After the first Sunday, you could find multiple open bike parking spots on Main Street at almost any time, which is not usually the case.

But here’s the twist: while downtown felt calmer, the campgrounds were thriving. On concert nights, traffic streamed out of Sturgis toward the Buffalo Chip and Full Throttle. Talking to rally-goers, a pattern emerged: many came downtown for a day or two to grab souvenirs, then spent most of their time in the campgrounds or riding the Hills. Honestly, that’s not the worst thing. It relieves some of the boiling-point pressure the rally can put on Sturgis locals, while also giving visitors a reason to come back during quieter times of the year to actually soak in the Black Hills. In many ways, the Rally is our once-a-year audition. A chance to hook people into returning when they can really experience why we live here. But still, the quieter Main Street raises a question: how do we keep downtown vibrant during the Rally?

Of course, you can’t talk about the Rally without talking about prices. If you’ve been online or talked to visitors, you’ve heard the complaints: prices are too high, it’s price gouging, it should be illegal. Let’s set the record straight. Yes, prices are higher during the Rally. No, it’s not gouging. Price gouging only applies to needs. Nothing about the Sturgis Rally is a need, no matter how much we’d like to claim it is.

This is festival pricing, plain and simple. You’ll pay too much for a corn dog at the county fair, at Coachella, a concert, or at a Renaissance Festival. The Rally isn’t different. And let’s be honest: a lot of the vendors under tents are traveling to the rally and it is one of many festival type stops they do throughout the year. A lot of them follow the festivals around the country. Could you spend $25 on a corn dog downtown? Sure. But you could also spend that same $25 at a local restaurant and get an actual meal (beer or alcohol not included in that price). That’s on the consumer. Do your research. Yes, I know, nobody wants to be Googling restaurant options while hungover on the hot concrete of Main Street. But it might save you a few bucks if you pick a year round local establishment.

So with the price complaints I noticed this year that instead of paying for festival food, a lot of people were stocking up at grocery and liquor stores and then eating and drinking back at the places they were staying. That shift keeps some money in town, but it also means downtown establishments feel the pinch. So it leaves us with a hard question: has Sturgis priced itself out?

The Rally has always been both a lifeline and a leech. It gives just enough to keep us tied to it, but it drains resources, stresses locals, and leaves us asking: what next? It’s a toxic relationship if we’re honest. But it’s also one we can’t walk away from, because our community relies on it. Without the Rally, would we have Rally Point, The Loud, Sturgis Brewing Company, the Motorcycle and Car Museums, or the charities that benefit every year? Would our Ag community be able to carry the sales tax load alone? Could outdoor recreation tourism fill the gap? Maybe, maybe not. Right now, the Rally is our community’s single biggest driver. We can’t afford to lose it. But we also can’t afford to depend on it alone.

The 85th showed us two things: people still come, and they’re not experiencing Sturgis the way they used to. The campgrounds, the Hills, and the concerts are pulling focus. That’s not bad, but it does mean we need to rethink how we keep downtown alive, how we balance local frustrations with visitor expectations, and how we diversify beyond the Rally.

Because if Sturgis becomes just a placeholder instead of a destination, the roar might fade for good.