JONESBORO — A Jonesboro church has purchased the fairgrounds site just north of the city for $6.65 million, but the Northeast Arkansas District Fair will be held there as scheduled.
The Jonesboro Sun reported that the Nettleton Baptist Church's purchase of the Northeast Arkansas Exposition and Conference Center was announced Wednesday.
The Craighead County Fair Association filed for bankruptcy in October 2014. A bankruptcy court approved the liquidation of the fairgrounds last fall because it was more than $9 million in debt.
The 78-acre property has six buildings, including an 115,000-square-foot exhibit building. The estimated cost to convert the exhibit building is $2.5 million.
Nettleton said its goal is for the new facility to be in operation by the end of the year.