Busy weekend at The Monument, hectic time for event parking
A record crowd for the Monster Trucks show and Rush game at The Monument last weekend brought a deeper issue to surface, parking.
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Monument was definitely the place to be this past weekend, whether it was a Rush game or monster trucks.
The trucks almost sold out at the Summit Arena, where about 98% of available tickets were sold.
Craig Baltzer, the Executive Director of the Monument says they believe that the new arena allowed for a better experience.
“If you know you’re coming down here, and you know it’s a night that’s busy with lots of activity down at The Monument, you might want to just drive straight to one of those lots, and you’re probably gonna have a much easier time at it,” Baltzer said.
As much fun as you may have had once you got inside, finding a parking spot close by was no doubt a chore. Baltzer, however, says solutions like a shuttle system are being discussed.
He adds that the parking lots on New York Street, across from the Journey Museum are your best bet to get a spot quickly.
“We had more room to maneuver trucks and work the trucks in there,” Baltzer said. “They can get up to speed a little bit better and that kind of thing, in motor sports in general. It was very difficult to do a motocross event in the the footprint of the Barnett Arena where this new arena will be much more designed for it.”
Baltzer says that The Monument is also using a new “Know before you go” e-mail system to remind event-goers of parking availability before big events.
