JACKSONVILLE — There is still no decision about a potential new home for the Arkansas State Fair, but Jacksonville has made preparations.
That decision was scheduled to be revealed at the end of December, but has once again been delayed.
For the past 70 years, the State Fair has been in the same location in Little Rock, but for more than a year, the Arkansas Livestock Show Association has been considering moving the fair to a more suitable location.
The association considered 17 proposals for the future of the State Fair, one of which is to keep the fair where it is and expand its facilities. The cost would be up to $57 million to expand and improve the existing fairgrounds and about $119 million to relocate the fair, according to a recent study commissioned by the city of Little Rock.
“We’ve been waiting on a financial-feasibility study and economic-impact study,” said Ralph Shoptaw, general manager of the Arkansas Livestock Show Association. “[The studies were] supposed to have been completed on [Dec.] 27. We can’t really move forward until we have that feasibility study.”
Shoptaw said the focus of the study is the Interstate 40 and 440 corridor near Jacksonville to see if it would be better economically to relocate the State Fair or leave it at its current location and try to expand to adjacent properties.
Consideration for relocation of the fair has narrowed to three parcels of land, one of which is a 445-acre tract along Wooten Road offered by the city of Jacksonville. The other two parcels are at Galloway Road and are adjacent to the Jacksonville property. They are just south of Jacksonville on I-440. One is 827 acres at $2,995 per acre, and the other is 632 acres at $4,512 per acre.
“We are still going to pursue that land for economic development,” Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher said. “There are a lot of economic-development opportunities, even if we don’t get the State Fair. Everything doesn’t hinge on whether we get the State Fair.”
The city plans to go ahead and purchase the 445 acres along Wooten Road, which Fletcher said is a perfect location, just off I-440, and has visibility and accessibility.
In a previous article in the Three Rivers Edition, Fletcher said the city’s plans are to build a 150,000-square-foot structure that could be utilized for events and entertainment venues all year. Fletcher referred to the parcel of land as a blank canvas where the development around it can be controlled.
“It could be a 365-day facility and could have a dividable building for multi-events or one major event,” he said.
Fletcher said city officials believe Jacksonville needs to move forward with economic development, despite whether the State Fair relocates to the city.