Emily DeCock investigative reporter intern

emily.decock@sdnewswatch.org

Rapid City, South Dakota, leaders plan to build a new indoor sports complex that will cost around $50 million and provide South Dakota athletes with a venue on the west end of the state like they currently have in Sioux Falls.

Rapid City Mayor Jason Salamun announced the effort this week, dubbing it “Project Catalyst.” It has been in talks for years, said Domico Rodriguez, executive director of the Rapid City Sports Commission.

An exact timeline for the project is not set. Factors such as how quickly funds can be raised, availability of labor and weather will affect the project, Salamun said.

“Of course, it’s going to take time,” he said. “We’ll have a more concrete timeline as things go on, but obviously it’s something I’d like to see during my time as mayor.”

Rapid City has a strong tourist presence in the summer, but Salamun hopes the complex expands the tourism season into colder months.

“Rapid City enjoys 3.9 million visitors each year,” he said. “The idea of expanding on our strength and being a destination for this region is one of the big reasons to have a sports complex.”

The Rapid City Sports Commission worked with Sports Facilities Companies, a company based out of Florida, to conduct a study on Rapid City’s needs in February 2023.

Sports Facilities Companies came back with a feasibility report detailing a sports complex consisting of an indoor and outdoor facility that would cost an estimated $75.9 million to $91.6 million and cover almost 47 acres.

From left: Wes Ashton of Black Hills Energy, Domico Rodriguez of the Rapid City Sports Commission, Pete Lien of Pete Lien & Sons Inc. and Mayor Jason Salamun announce land donation of 22.78 acres for indoor sports facility and other development on Monday, June 26, 2025, at the intersection of Seger Drive and 143rd Ave. in Rapid City, S.D. (Photo: Darrell Shoemaker / Rapid City Communications Division)

Rodriguez said that for now, Rapid City will focus on developing the indoor facility on about 12 acres. As planned, it will include court space, an indoor turf field and a sports performance area.

“Hopefully down the road we can expand to attack the outdoor portion,” he said.

The sports commission has been working with the city to find a location, finalize a funding plan and determine how to get the project done, said Rodriguez.

Sports complex location and funding

Salamun said Pete Lien & Sons Inc. donated 22.78 acres to the city, some of which will be used for the complex. The news conference announcing the project was held at the intersection of Seger Drive and 143rd Ave. on the northeast side of Rapid City, overlooking a portion of the donated land that’s north of Fleet Farm.

Domico Rodriguez and Mayor Jason Salamun listen to Pete Lien Monday, June 23, 2025, at the intersection of Seger Drive and 143rd Ave. in Rapid City, S.D., at the announcement of an indoor sports complex. (Photo: Darrell Shoemaker / Rapid City Communications Division)

An exact funding plan is also still being finalized for the project.

The city hopes to leverage funding that includes creating a tax increment financing district, public/private partnerships, donations and a hotel tax, Salamun said. He’s also seeking $5 million of unused Vision Fund resources from the Rapid City Common Council.

The TIF district would help fund various projects, including the sports complex, in its roughly 5-mile boundary. TIF is a public financing method commonly used by cities to help develop or maintain public projects. Rapid City’s Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the creation of the TIF district on Thursday, June 25, according to the press release.

Another funding method being considered for the project is a hotel tax. Rapid City hotels currently impose a $2 occupancy tax on every hotel room. A secondary $2 tax will generate around $1.5 million annually, Rodriguez said. This tax would go towards initial construction costs and also would help finance the ongoing operations of the facility, Salamun said.

What the complex would include

The proposed indoor facility would sit on 3.36 acres and include three primary sections:

Eight basketball courts that can be converted into 16 volleyball courts

A hybrid indoor turf facility that can be converted into one youth multi-purpose field, three small-sided multi-purpose fields, one baseball/softball infield or four batting cages/pitching tunnels

The sports performance area, which will include turf, sprinting track, a training area and four batting cages/pitching tunnels

The facility will also have flex space and 5,000 square feet of medical leased space.

Another 8.62 acres will be used for site development with 678 parking spaces.

The current state of sports in Rapid City

Finding space to be active, hold practices or host tournaments can be challenging in Rapid City, according to those involved in sports.

Rapid City’s population grew by 10,000 from 2020 to 2024 and is just shy of 85,000.

“That does not include Rapid Valley, Box Elder, Black Hawk, Summerset, Hill City, these communities that are nearby to us,” Salamun said. “There are a lot of folks moving into this area.”

The Monument in Rapid City has the capacity to host large sporting events, such as the Lakota Nation Invitational basketball tournament. However, the demand has been too great and The Monument has had to turn some events away, Salamun said.

The need for indoor space is community-wide, Rodriguez said. Due to a lack of space, his son’s basketball team has held team practices in people’s gyms attached to their houses.

“We couldn’t find a space over the past few years,” Rodriguez said. “So this has been happening. But this is something that’s not just been me, but the community has been vocalizing for several years.”

Rodriguez said the new complex can provide community members, youth sports teams and individuals the opportunity to have gym space in the winter.

Lane Kaiser (right) playing in the Nerdy Nut’s Expo Hall on the Central States Fairgrounds in Rapid City, S.D. The fairgrounds was awarded $980,000 to remodel the building and convert it into a multi-sport facility. (Photo: John Kaiser)

Rapid City sports parent John Kaiser said he’s been lucky he hasn’t had to battle for gym space because of his extensive involvement in youth sports.

“I’ve gotten access to facilities that maybe parents who don’t have the time or resources to be involved haven’t, and that’s where I think the discrepancy is,” Kaiser said. “It’s kind of who you know. … It’s very relationship-driven, as far as what you’re going to get access to.”

Economic impact of sports complexes

The economic impact the complex will bring to Rapid City will be significant, Salamun said. Sports tourism is a growing industry nationwide. Some families travel hundreds of miles and across states for competitions, tournaments and games.

Kaiser’s family travels extensively for his kids’ teams. He’s traveled or will travel to Denver (twice), Billings, Montana, and Gillette, Wyoming, for sports this year.

The Rapid City Sliders, the travel baseball team his son plays for, will be traveling to the Youth World Series at the Sanford Diamonds in Sioux Falls in July.

Lane’s team, the Rapid City Sliders. The Sliders program has teams ranging from 8-19 years old. (Photo: John Kaiser)

“That’s 11 kids and their families, five, six days in Sioux Falls, spending money,” he said. “We’re eating out every night, we’re staying in hotels, it’s pretty significant.”

A complex in Rapid City would put one such facility on both the east and west sides of the state. Sanford Sports has been a hub for regional, statewide and interstate sports tourism since breaking ground in northwest Sioux Falls in 2011.

More than 2.7 million people visit the Sanford Sports Complex annually, said Steve Young, president of Sanford Sports.

“It was pretty much just fields and a couple of buildings several years ago, about a decade ago,” Young said. “Now we are multiple complexes, multiple facilities.”

A youth flag football practice at the Sanford Fieldhouse. (Photo: Brooke Dunn)

The complex’s expansion over the years includes not only sports facilities as well as food options and two hotels. Among the features: junior football fields; Sanford Fieldhouse for hosting soccer, baseball, softball and football; the Sanford Pentagon with basketball and volleyball courts; the IcePlex for skating and hockey; Huether Family Match Pointe for tennis; Power and Grace Gymnastics; Sanford Crossing for soccer, football and lacrosse; and the Sanford Diamonds for baseball and softball.

Sports tourism is a growing economic driver, especially in cities that have the ability to host large competitions and tournaments.

“When we’re running tournaments and we’re running high programming or special events, the hotels are full, the parking lots and the restaurants and the entertainment spaces are full. All those people need places to stay and we can’t fit them on roughly 160 rooms on this (Sanford’s) campus,” Young said.

A rainbow looms over a soccer field at the Sanford Crossing complex in 2023. The facility has eight full-length soccer fields. (Photo: Michael Klinski / South Dakota News Watch)

“So they’re staying throughout the town. They’re spending money in the restaurants and the retail spaces for something to do outside of their games they’re playing,” Young said. “I’d imagine the impact is fairly significant.”

Potential opposition

As with any major project, Salamun said he expects some opposition to the project. He thinks finalizing a funding plan will help ease some worries.

“I think as you start to educate the community about how this is going to be funded, they want to make sure that it’s not hurting them but it’s helping them,” he said.

“You don’t go after big visionary projects like this without some wind in your face,” the mayor added. “But I do believe it’s in the best interest of this community and really sets us up for the long term, especially as we grow.”

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they’re published. Emily DeCock is a student at South Dakota State University in Brookings. She received the 2025 Jeffrey B. Nelson Investigative Journalism Endowed Internship and Chuck Raasch and Sandy Johnson Scholarship from the SDSU Foundation. Contact Emily: emily.decock@sdnewswatch.org.