Arkansas State Fair to stay in Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK — The board that oversees the Arkansas State Fair accepted a $ 3 million offer from Little Rock on Thursday to keep the event in the capital city, though board members said they would have preferred to move but just didn’t have the money.

The fair has operated since mid- 1940s on about 100 acres south of downtown Little Rock, and the board wanted room for expansion and updated facilities. Two cities in northern Pulaski County tried to get the fair moved to their communities. Jacksonville offered land; North Little Rock tried but an election on a sales tax increase to fund the deal failed last year.

The fair will go on as scheduled Oct. 12- 21 in Little Rock.

“I’m not surprised,” Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher said. He worked closely with the fair board and said he understands the organization didn’t have money to build new facilities from scratch in Jacksonville, even with donated land.

“We’re going to pursue things of more immediate benefit for our community for that land,” the mayor added.

Fair Director Ralph Shoptaw said the average state fairgrounds in the U. S. has 366 acres and the board wanted something closer to that. The fair owns another 84 acres but it has been inaccessible because of the railroad tracks that run through the area.

Relocating railroad tracks or building an underpass could link 60 acres in one area, and 24 acres west of the tracks also could be put to use with improvements, Shoptaw said.

Little Rock’s housing authority owns 10 acres adjacent to the fairgrounds and that area could eventually be brought into the fair’s holdings. The city is in the process of moving residents from the community’s oldest housing project, Sunset Terrace, into neighborhood dwellings, and Shoptaw said that land is expected to become available.

The Sunset Terrace property could be used for parking and open up space for a spruced- up entrance and more concessions. “It could give the east side a whole new look,” Shoptaw said.

Assistant City Manager Bryan Day said Little Rock is looking forward to helping improve the fairgrounds and surrounding area. “We understand the neighborhood is very important,” Day said.

Rena Messick, 37, who lives near the intersection of South Summit Street and West Roosevelt Road, just east of the fairgrounds, said she was relieved to learn the fair isn’t going anywhere.

“I’m glad it’s staying, it’s historic,” she said, adding that her mother used to take her to the fair when she was young and now she takes her own children.

Messick hopes the fair can expand its parking areas, which she said would cut down on the number of people parking in her neighborhood. She said crime becomes a concern while the fair is taking place, especially as people walk to their cars after dark, even though there is a heavy police presence.