Buffalo Chip announces they will have a Rally event this summer

On Friday, the Sturgis Buffalo Chip announced in a Facebook video that they will have an event this year.

Buffalo Chip owner Rod Woodruff describes the campground as "a place to play, and place to stay."

"We have an event, we have camping," said Woodruff. "We're here, we want you to keep coming, and so that's the purpose of the whole thing. So, then, things just change along the way-- you get more things happening, you get fewer things happening and you just try to keep people updated because it's been a pretty turbulent last three or four months."

Woodruff said COVID-19 has changed everything and the situation is still fluid. Many bands have cancelled, but tentatively, Puddle of Mud and ZZ Top will perform, and some world champion surfers will be present. The biggest challenge will be social distancing.

"We have worked on the social distancing. We'll continue to refine that as we learn more all of the time, but that's probably the single biggest challenge. The campground, that is not a challenge at all, because everybody camps and they're already six feet apart for other folks. But, in the amphitheater, we want to have it laid out so that people can do that."

Woodruff said the Rally and the Chip exist to support the black hills area.

"Our event wasn't until August, and so, we're basically here for one reason and one reason and that's summer tourism and our big focal point is a two week period where we put on a motorcycle festival, a rally with music," said Woodruff.

Woodruff said the Buffalo Chip does not keep track of numbers, but expect significantly fewer this year.

Woodruff asks people to have common sense regarding the distancing. He also said there will be hand sanitizer across the campground.

"We're just dang happy to be in South Dakota where common sense continues to prevail," said Woodruff.