Sturgis, South Live Cam

Champion Rally Productions is a division of Champion Sports Group, the Huntersville, N.C.- based firm that manages NASCAR sponsorships for several race teams including the elite team of Dale Earnhardt/Richard Childross Racing. Champion Sports Group also is heavily involved in promoting the Professional Bull Riders Tour.

“This new association with the Sturgis Rally will allow Champion Sports Group to work with the city to take this event to the next level,”’ said David Allen, CSG’s president and founder. A native of Deadwood, S.D., Allen said his knowledge of the Sturgis Rally and the Black Hills region will prove instrumental in promoting the annual event.

Under its exclusive agreement with the City of Sturgis, Champion Rally Productions (CRP) is responsible for the day-to-day management and coordination of city-related functions for the legendary Sturgis Rally. This includes leasing of city property, exclusive negotiation of official sponsorships, coordinating, scheduling and promoting official Rally events, managing the official rally website, providing information services, and advising the city on marketing mainagement of the Rally, Allen explained.

CRP has an innovative plan to develop long-term marketing relationships with select sponsors and vendors. This includes development of the Rally Sponsor Expo, the Rally Hospitality Village, and the Rally Park, which will host fairgrounds events.

Additionally, in February the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce designated CRP as the exclusive licensing agent for use of the Sturgis Rally marks and logos. This responsibility includes negotiating licenses for use of Sturgis Rally trademarks, monitoring and collecting royalties, managing enforcement of all trademark uses, and developing new revenue opportunities from trademarking for the Sturgis Area Chamber.

CRP has a full-time office staff located in Sturgis to provide various services and manage “America’s Motorcycle Rally” on a year-long basis. Long-time Black Hills resident Ronda Oman serves as CRP’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Director. She is assisted by Connie Weiss. Both are licensed property managers with the South Dakota Board of Realtors. Pam Buhler is the newest member of the Rally staff.

CRP’s parent company, Champion Sports Group, is a full-service sports marketing agency which offers a variety of services, includiing advertising, marketing, public and media relations, event management, direct mail and redemption, and creative and design services.

Among its current clients are General Motors, NAPA Auto Parts, Bass Pro Shops & Tracker Marine, Nike Racing, RC Cola, the Professional Bull Riders Tour, GM’s Cadillac Division, and Florida Tourism. The company also represents seven NASCAR teams in more than 90 events per year.

Rising as an emerald oasis in a vast sea of prairie, the Black Hills of South Dakota beckon bikers back for an Auguslt celebration of motorcycling at its finest. Each year, tens of thousands of motorcyclists journey to the Mecca of the biker world -the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

The annual Anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this August will celebrate new events, new management, and a new millennium. Organizers anticipate as many as a half-million motorcycle enthusiasts will descend on the community of 6,000 residents this year, making it the largest Rally since the 50th anniversary in 1990. What they’ll find is a revamped week-long celebration that retains old favorites and adds new flavors to the mix.

“We’re taking this rally to a new level by adding events like additional bike races, high-octane concerts, and professional bull riding", said David Allen, president of Champion Sports Group, the Huntersville, N.C., sports marketing company engaged by the City of Sturgis to manage and promote the Rally.

With decades of sports management experience, including representation of several leading NASCAR race teams, Champion has the knowledge and industry contacts to stage major events, Allen noted. His Sturgis “team” includes Pace Motor Sports, which will promote and produce vintage bike races and other motor sports competition.

Oman said that in addition to new offerings, the Jackpine Gypsies, the club that founded the Rally, would “be brought back into the Rally family where they belong. They are the history of the Rally and we need to recognize their long-standing contribution to the success of this world renowned event".

Perhaps the most legendary feature of the Sturgis Rally is historic Main Street. Four blocks are restricted to motorcycles only, creating a colorful sea of bikes, bikers and vendors selling a vast array of leather goods, jewelry, t-shirts and tattoos.

In addition to official Sturgis Rally events, motorcyclists are attracted to the scenic byways of the Black Hills, which include a National Forest the size of Delaware. With Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse memorials, the nation’s largest publicly owned buffalo herd in Custer State Park, legalized gaming in Deadwood, Devil's Tower and the mystical Badlands, our region is an ideal place for touring, Oman said.