The news that Elton John was coming to play the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in April was surprising and welcome.

The iconic John, although somewhat past his prime in terms of current popularity, is certainly among the biggest acts to have come to Rapid City over the years. And the number of big name acts and events that have made their way to western South Dakota have seemed to grow fewer and far between.

That was part of the selling point with the addition of the new ice arena. With additional facilities, the folks in charge of attracting big time entertainment would have a better shot at attracting the big names.

Now, with John's scheduled April Fool's Day concert and Monday's announcement of pop sensation Taylor Swift, they seem to be on the way to fulfilling the promise. And don't forget the Progressive Skating and Gymnastics Spectacular hosted by the civic center ice arena in January. The collection of Olympic talent in figure skating and gymnastics, combined with the appearance of singer-songwriter-dancer Raven Symone.

It's a good start at least.

So how do these big names stack up in the 30-years-plus of events at the Civic Center? Well, that's certainly up for debate.

The thing about the Civic Center is that for those of us who grew up in Rapid City and the surrounding Hills' communities, the Civic Center is remembered as much for sporting and community events as it is for big name concerts and entertainment.

Whether it was the Black Hills Stock Show, the CBA's Thrillers, the Black Hills Pow Wow, state tournaments or even state darts, the civic center holds a wide swath of memory for an even wider swath of people.

So to rank them objectively isn't really in the realm of possibility. But here's a short list of some landmark events that have taken place at the civic center since it was built nearly 32 years ago.

Opening with the bang

In many ways, the inaugural event at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center will never be topped.

To mark the event of the landmark building - one which would allow the city to draw big name talent AND host state athletic competitions - the folks landed the biggest act of all: Elvis Presley.

Although they didn't know it at the time, the King of Rock and Roll was on his way out. Overweight and fatigued, Presley was in pretty poor health by the time he made it to western South Dakota.

Still, according to newspaper reports (ours, that is), the King was greeted enthusiastically by Hills area fans who packed the new building for the inaugural event.

YouTube is filled with video from the event as CBS was preparing a TV special that featured concert performances from the civic center and from an earlier concert in Omaha Neb.

Remarkably, Elvis, who had turned in a number of subpar performances during the 1977 tour, took the stage on June 21 and brought his A game. In good spirits, Elvis' lifted his performance for the cameras and the Rapid City crowd, leaving an indelible impression on the crowd.

The accompanying film, which remains available in bootleg form on eBay and in snippets on YouTube, is the last the public got to see of Elvis. A little more than a month later, he is found dead at his home in Graceland, the apparent victim of an overdose of prescription drugs including codeine, Valium, morphine and Demorol.

The Polish Rifle vs. the silky shooter

A while back, our east river brethren over at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader picked the greatest game ever played in boys basketball as the 1979 Class B championship game between Armour and Beresford. That game was played at the civic center.

It's hard to argue their choice, but for Rapid Citians, the honor of best high school game to be played at the civic center might have to go to a home town team.

In the 1988-89 season, Rapid City Stevens had assembled one of the most talented teams in any sport ever in Rapid City. The starting lineup included three future NCAA Division I players, including future NBA player and that year's Mr. Basketball Eric Piatkowski.

With the State AA tournament scheduled to be held in Rapid City that year, a Stevens title seemed in the cards. In the title game, the Raiders faced off against an Aberdeen Central team that seemed to be outmanned. But they had a secret weapon in sophomore shooting guard Eric Kline.

Kline, who would later go on to break several South Dakota scoring records and collect a Mr. Basketball title of his own, was up to the task. The Aberdeen team got off to an early lead and an upset seemed to be brewing as Kline ran off pick after pick for open jumper after open jumper.

However, midway through the third quarter, Stevens began closing the gap and on one play, the game turned. The Stevens pressure forced a mad scramble for the ball at mid court. As the ball squirted loose, Piatkowski swooped in and picked it off the floor, made a dash for the basket and slammed it down to put the Raiders ahead.

It is the loudest I ever heard the civic center. (And I once attended a Ted Nugent concert there).

Still, Central refused to give up and with seconds remaining, they had an opportunity to steal away the Raiders' title hopes. Off a perfectly executed inbounds play, Kline came off a pick and spotted up for a dead-on three-pointer. If it weren't for the help defense and the slightest of tips by Stevens forward Mike Jones, the ending may have been different as Kline's jumper swirled around the rim and fell out, securing the Raiders victory.

Biased? Yes I am. But still, it was a game for the ages.

Randy Lewis vs. the Russians

Randy Lewis first made his mark as a high school hero in Rapid City, breaking the national pin streak record and leaving a mark of 45 consecutive pins.

He later became an NCAA champion and a World Champion. His career peaked in 1984 when he battled to get on the U.S. Olympic team and then went on to win a gold medal for the U.S.A. at the Los Angeles games.

Still, what many Rapid Citians will remember of Lewis was when he took on the Russians in a special event after those 1984 Olympics. In the height of the cold war, Russia refused to compete in the L.A. games. Of course, Lewis had been denied his opportunity in the 1980 games when the U.S. boycotted the Moscow games.

That meant the only way to take on the Russians was through an event such as the one Lewis brought to Rapid City in the mid 1980s. And while there's little on the Web of that showdown between the two teams, Lewis managed to pull of a victory.

For those needing to see the tenacious Lewis in action, here's footage of his 1984 gold medal match.

Hockey finally comes to the Hills

I know there are plenty of readers who will disagree with this choice, but please allow me this indulgence.

I followed the Thrillers, the Posse and other incantations of professional basketball in Rapid City. And while the Thrillers did bring a title to the city, it pretty much just played the playoffs in Rapid City that year, moving here late in the season. As for the other incantations of professional basketball, Duane Ticknor managed to work some of the magic he had found earlier at National American University in bringing an IBA title to town, but that title game was actually held at the Stevens High School gymnasium.

And then there was indoor football. Nothing against indoor football and their dedicated following of fans, but the last incantation of the Red Dogs and their nefarious general manager who absconded funds and then disappeared almost overnight has still left a bad taste in my mouth.

Of course, I'm biased. The Williams family is, by tradition, a hockey family. My father's cousins played in the NHL and one of them won a gold medal in 1960. But the fact that hockey is by far the best spectator sport - even when the team isn't the cream of the crop - is not hyperbole.

So, for now, the highlight of the Rapid City Rush's brief history is their opening night win - on the opening night of the new ice area - 4-0 over Colorado.

The fifth opinion

As for a fifth most memorable event from the Civic Center history, I leave that up to the readers. I could talk about my favorite concert (Sheryl Crow/Semisonic) or the best concert (Pearl Jam/Frank Black), but that would be totally subjective.

For another opinion, we asked Civic Center general manager Brian Maliske what he thought were the five best acts to play the civic center. This is what he had to say.