Sturgis, South Dakota, Harley-Davidson and Sturgis city officials announced that The Motor Company will build a permanent year-round space for riders at the corner of Main St. and Harley-Davidson Way (formerly 2nd St.). Called the Harley-Davidson Rally Point, it will include a stage for events, concerts and weddings. Plans also call for an elevated area that will allow riders to take pictures of their motorcycles with the Sturgis sign serving as a backdrop.
“Sturgis is a mecca for riders around the world. The Harley-Davidson Rally Point establishes a new site in downtown Sturgis for people to gather year round,” said Bill Davidson, great-grandson of Harley-Davidson founder William A. Davidson and vice president of the Harley-Davidson Museum. “The renaming of 2nd Street to Harley-Davidson Way honors the legacy of our company’s founders along with all the extraordinary men and women who ride our motorcycles.”
Riders on three Harley-Davidsons: a 1978 Super Glide with a Shovelhead engine, a 2015 Street 750, and a Project LiveWire broke ground today on the new space, which will be open in time for the 75th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which starts August 1.
Officials from Sturgis and employees from Harley-Davidson worked with FourFront Design, Inc. of Rapid City to develop the final design and renderings. “Breaking ground on The Rally Point solidifies Harley-Davidson’s presence in Sturgis,” said Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen.
“The Rally Point will be a hub for riders during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and it will serve as a gathering point for the citizens of Sturgis throughout the year.”
Fun fact: To ensure the new multi-purpose space builds on the legacy of Harley-Davidson, 74 bricks from the company’s Milwaukee headquarters—a building that once housed the company’s factory dating back more than 100 years—and one brick from the Harley-Davidson Museum will be integrated into The Rally Point’s final construction.
For the ceremonial groundbreaking, the bricks traveled 900 miles from Milwaukee on Harley-Davidson motorcycles and were delivered to Mayor Carstensen by members of the Harley Owners Group. Motocross star Carey Hart, the Grand Marshal of the 2015 Sturgis City of Riders Mayor’s Ride, received the bricks along with Carstensen.