More cowboys and cowgirls are filling the new Summit arena for the Black Hills Stock Show this year

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - “The Summit arena allowed us to create more space to grow the rodeo portion which then, in turn, created more space to grow other things like the stock show and the trade show portion, so all of that has been able to grow,” said Craig Baltzer, executive director at the Monument.

And the attendance has also been growing significantly.

“Our weekend rodeo numbers were up from previous years, in fact, I think they were up from history,” said Baltzer.

Baltzer says not only was the rodeo a full house but traffic in the trade and stock show has been the best he’s seen.

And more people visiting the stock show means spending more money, that is able to be funneled back into the community.

“If we didn’t have all of that tourism, a lot more would be reliant on property taxes and just local people paying for it, so our visitors are contributing,” said Baltzer.

Baltzer says the Black Hills Stock Show is one of, if not the biggest, economic drivers in the area each year.

He says the future is looking bright.

“All the way around, it’s probably the best rodeo we’ve ever been able to do in Western South Dakota,” said Baltzer.