The owner of one of Sturgis’s largest biker bars says the new facility is going to be open this year for the rally.
Last year, the Full Throttle Saloon located outside Sturgis near Fort Meade caught fire and burned down. But Mike Ballard purchased the Broken Spoke Saloon north of Bear Butte earlier this year and is relocating.
Ballard says they are rebuilding the bar in a different building from the Broken Spoke…
“It’s right there, when you come into the gate its right there to the right, where they had about 100 RV sites right in there. We took them RV sites out and that’s where we’re building. Everything that we’re doing is going to be 10 times better than it was before,” Ballard says.
Ballard says the bandstand will point toward the city of Sturgis, and away from Bear Butte, a site that’s sacred to the Lakota people.
Ballard’s relocation to the site near Bear Butte drew concern from some Lakota people who are planning a demonstration during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
