STURGIS, S.D. – Although an amount, if any, has yet to be determined, it may be possible the City of Sturgis may owe money to help pay expenses incurred from last August’s TT race held at the end of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
Sturgis City Attorney Erik Davis says city officials and officials with American Flat Track Events have been discussing shared expenses and looking over the contract the city entered in to last year.
The race, which ran downtown Sturgis last August, was a controversial topic at first, when it appeared the city would share in the cost of hosting the race – as much as $650,000.
The initial contract was sent to a public vote and citizens voted overwhelmingly to nullify the contract.
Determined to hold the race, AFT Head of Sales Cameron Gray and Chief Executive Officer Gene Crouch offered a new contract that represented a no-risk deal for the taxpayers, since expenses would be paid out of race sponsorships.
But the race lost money, according to AFT officials. While officials did not say exactly how much the race lost, Gray estimated total expenses between $500,000 to $700,000.
Sturgis Mayor Kevin Forrester said during recent meetings with the AFT to reconcile shared expenses, he pushed for an itemized expense list for the race, which he said he has not yet received.
Davis, however, told council members there is a possibility the race could change venues.
Davis says the council is facing two separate policy considerations…
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Davis says he is working with City Administrator Aaron Jordan and Mayor Kevin Forrester to get answers to these questions.
