In 2014, we became concerned about the safety of our permanent grandstand structure that had been built over sixty years ago when horse racing was popular on the grounds. The grandstand structure, along with the Bird’s Nest announcer’s box, was removed due to deterioration of the structure and changes to the building code. Patron safety was an issue.
Over the past couple years, the society has diligently been investigating a variety of solutions to increase, as well as replace, the approximate 575 seating capacity that was lost.
Types of entertainment are different when living in a rural community and with many of the events being part of an outdoor venue, seating is imperative. With this in mind, we have created our Have A Seat campaign to replace seating capacity.
The need for a new grandstand is apparent not only during the 4 day fair on Thanksgiving Weekend, but for the many other events that take place on our grounds. These events include horse shows, tractor pulls, demolition derbys, antique tractor pulls, musical events and livestock shows to name a few.