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Don Barnett Arena

Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
Location 444 North Mount Rushmore Road
Rapid City, South Dakota
Owner City of Rapid City
Operator City of Rapid City
Capacity Barnett Arena: 10,000
Ice Arena:
5,132 (Hockey)
6,200 (Basketball)
7,000 (Concerts)
Surface Multi-surface
Construction
Opened June 21, 1977
Expanded 2008
Construction cost $24 Million (2008 Addition)
($31.1 million in 2016 dollars)
Architect Four Front Design Inc. (2008 Addition)
Tenants
Rapid City Rush (ECHL) (2008–present)
Rapid City Thrillers (CBA/IBA) (1987–1995, 1998–1999)
Black Hills Posse (IBA) (1995–1998)
Black Hills Gold (IBA) (1999–2000)
Rapid City Flying Aces (NIFL) (2000–2006)

The Rushmore Plaza Civic Center is a 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m2) exhibition center, in Rapid City, South Dakota. It contains a 10,000 seat, multi-purpose arena. It was built in 1977. The grand opening event was a concert by Elvis Presley on June 21, 1977. That concert was filmed for a CBS television special that aired in September. The concert was during the singer's final tour before his death on August 16, 1977.

The Rushmore Plaza Civic Center is home to many large events including the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo,Lakota Nation Invitational, and the Black Hills Homebuilders Expo. It also showcases many motorcycles during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. It was home to the Rapid City Thrillers basketball team. The Civic Center is the main event center for western South Dakota.

It is currently managed by Brian Maliske and has plans for expansion for a new arena that will house a hockey team and music concerts as well, but those plans were voted down by the citizens of the city. The new arena was designed to double the capacity of the Civic Center, and was completed in 2008. It allows two simultaneous events to occur under one building, and it used to be largest venue center in South Dakota, until it was supplanted by the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The new arena features luxury boxes for events and the Rapid City Rush home games. The new arena hosts the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL.

Coordinates: 44°05′19″N 103°13′33″W / 44.08854°N 103.225816°W / 44.08854; -103.225816


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