RAPID CITY, SD – “You want us to put what … where?”
You could hear a pin drop in the board room of the just completed 250,000 square foot Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. Opened in 1977, it still had that new construction smell.
So you can imagine how board members were trying to get their heads around the smell of, well, manure and the dust and just the logistics of what Jim Sutton, Jr. was proposing that day.
An indoor rodeo. But not just any rodeo. A Sutton Rodeo produced event that would put Rapid City on the map. Over the past 44 years, it’s done that and more. Most recently named the 2020 PRCA Best Indoor Rodeo (not for the first time), it is now a ‘must stop’ for professional
cowboys and cowgirls. And a ‘must go’ for rodeo fans.
And so it came to pass that in the Don Barnett Arena, inside that shiny, new main event center serving the Black Hills Region, a real jewel in the crown of Rapid City began its first of over 40 decades of award winning professional rodeo performances…Rodeo Rapid City.
So just how do you lay down 1,000 cubic yards of dirt inside a what was then a brand new civic center? Carefully. And there’s more preparation than you might imagine.
The dirt is a special blend of dirt that includes a clay base mixed with a top soil and a healthy dose of sand. It is specially maintained year-round with final adjustments to the blend made before move-in begins. For the floor of the Barnett it takes about 66 dump truck loads to bring in the 1000 cubic yards of dirt.
Dump trucks, loaders, skid steers, and tractors are all used to move dirt. The dirt is piled about a foot high across the arena floor and varies in height by a few inches in certain spots to accommodate specific rodeo events.
“Our priority is making sure the arena surface is safe and of the right blend for both the human and animal athletes to perform at the top of their game. We work very closely with the Sutton’s to make sure that this happens and stays consistent throughout the entire event,” says Rory Hammerbeck, Operations Manager.
The same dirt has been used for the past 12 years, with adjustments to the blend made on an as needed basis from year to year. Factors that contribute to changes are the moisture, heat and wind the dirt is exposed to throughout the year. When the season is over it is stored at the Rapid City Reclamation Site located near the airport.
A measure of the legacy Sutton Rodeo shares with Rapid City – besides all that dirt – is that the Sutton’s were there from the very beginning in 1977 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. And they will be there in 2022 in the newly expanded facility, rebranded The Monument, in the new Summit Arena.
That’s a real partnership.
And no one is asking, “You want us to put what … where?”
