Feb. 24, 2010 For more Information contact:
For Immediate Release Greg Stewart @ 248-7160
AGRI-FAIR OF THE AMERICAS ON THE DRAWING BOARD FOR STATE FAIR PARK
An International agricultural exposition, called Agri-Fair of the Americas, to be held at State Fair Park in Yakima is in the early planning stages, and with it would come funding for some exciting changes to State Fair Park.
The Ag exposition and the upgrades to the buildings and grounds at State Fair Park are part of a $200 million master plan that has been developed by the State Fair board of directors and staff.
“This new Ag exposition, along with the improvements to our grounds, are all part of a long range plan to make State Fair Park even more functional on a year round basis,” said Fair President and General Manager Greg Stewart. “We envision Agri-Fair of the Americas as being a national, even international event, drawing exhibitors and attendees from all over the United States, Canada and beyond.”
State Fair Park is the site of the original State Fair of Washington and many of the buildings on the grounds were built in the early 1900’s. Some of the buildings currently on the grounds would be removed and replaced under this future plan. Other existing buildings with historical value, including the Agriculture Building, Pioneer Hall, and the Modern Living Building would be kept and refurbished.
Stewart and the Fair board see the Agri-Fair of the Americas as being a huge exposition and symposium that would feature expert guest speakers and equipment manufacturers from all aspects and areas of the agricultural world.
The one big question in all of this is how would such an endeavor be funded? This is where the Fair board of directors has been focusing their efforts, to provide some solutions and answers to the community.
Stewart said that during the past several months Fair officials have met with the Deputy Under Secretary at USDA Rural Development, the Director of the Washington State Department of Ag, and they plan on meeting soon with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to review the project.
“We know a project like this would have many immediate and long term benefits to the economy from job creation to retail to infrastructure,” said Stewart. “We are attempting to continue to present this story to state officials and department heads and to our own county commissioners.”
Stewart explained that the desire is to have the Agri-Fair of the Americas concept provide the funding mechanism for this rebirth of State Fair Park. It would be a self-sustaining and self- funding operation.
He and other Fair officials understand that this is a long process and will require cooperation from local, state and federal elected officials for the program to succeed.
“We have been challenged for many years on how to upgrade and modernize our facilities,” Stewart continued. “These fairgrounds were designed in the late 1890’s and we recognize the need to fully upgrade these facilities for relevance to the future. That has been our focus over the years with the lingering question of how do we pay for it.”
Stewart said that the Fair board recognizes that neither they, nor any local government can fund this ambitious project. For that reason they have focused on the development of the Agri-Fair of the Americas concept.
State Fair Park is owned by Yakima County and is operated under a long term lease with the Central Washington Fair Association. The buildings and grounds are currently operated and maintained without any tax support.
According to Stewart, the Fair board of directors intends to have a display at this year’s annual fair showcasing their vision for what State Fair Park might look like in the future.
Some news of this long range plan has been reported in the media lately, and Stewart said he has received many positive comments from the community after those initial reports.
“We think this is an exciting endeavor,” he concluded. “One that will provide huge economic benefits to the whole region for a long time to come.”
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