CULTURE + ENTERTAINMENT
“Rapid City is a world renown destination,” said Visit Rapid City’s director of sales Tyson Steiger . “There’s nowhere else that has the attractions and diverse landscape like the area in and around town.” Visitors from all over the world come to see the Black Hills, oftentimes for meetings and/or conferences. Just last year, meetings and conferences generated $5.41 million in economic impact. “This helps our local businesses, lowers our residential taxes, and provides the financial capabilities to help quality of life projects for our city,” said Steiger. From intimate board rooms to expansive ballrooms to state- of-the-art arenas, the area offers venues that fit many needs and wants. Meeting planners can find spaces as little as one meeting room at Aby’s Rapid City to Central States Fair & Rodeo , which one room can accommodate up to 118,000.
The largest non-annual conference hosted in Rapid City occurred with the 2021 FreedomFest Summit .
“The total number of attendees were approximately 2,800,” recalled Steiger. “They had room blocks at 14 hotels, which equaled a total room pick up of about 3,500 sleeping rooms and a direct economic impact to the local economy of roughly $1.5 million.” Speakers during this event included former South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem , actor Dennis Quaid , Dr. Drew Pinsky , Larry Elder , and more.
BUSINESS ISSUE february 2026
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