Tag Archives: Utah State Fairpark

Town Hall Meeting June 30th on Proposed Fairpark Arena

There will be a town hall meeting on Thursday, June 30th in the Grand Building at 7pm (155N 1000W) to share information and answer questions about the 10,000 seat arena proposed to be built on the current site of the rodeo grandstand on the Utah State Fairgrounds. The proposal for the arena includes funding from the State Legislature, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, LDS Church and private funding sources. The Arena will house the Days of ’47 Rodeo, and will be able to hold other events throughout the year. “It’s a jewel. As a community, we have always recognized the importance and historical value of the Fairgrounds, not only for our community, for my community, for the state. This is going to help the state Fairpark to be self-sustaining to be able to keep the fair in Salt Lake City and on the west side,” Representative Hollins said. “This is an investment toward economic success and stability. After 20 years of studying, adjusting, and budget tightening it is time to allow the Fairpark to be a revenue generator we all know it can and will be.”

This is a potential game changer for the Fairpark, with potential to create revenue streams to make the fairgrounds sustainable going forward. The Fairpark Community Council supports the proposed arena and we hope you will join us at the town hall meeting to get more information, and find out how we can support this initiative. State Senator Luz Escamilla, Representative Sandra Hollins, Representative Brad Wilson, and State Fairpark Executive Director Larry Mullenax will be in attendance.

West Side Spotlight: Larry Mullenax and Jeff Kooring

This month, we met with Larry Mullenax and Jeff Kooring of the Utah State Fairpark for our West Side Spotlight! Larry is the interim Executive Director and Jeff is the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Utah State Fair Corporation. As we have previously reported, this was a very successful legislative session for the Fairpark. With the help of the Fairpark Community Council and other west side leaders, legislation was passed that effectively resolved the lease issue, made changes to the governing structure and appropriated funding for deferred maintenance. One positive piece of the legislation is that the new Board overseeing the Fairpark will include a member who lives in the neighborhood who will represent the viewpoint of the community. The City and State have shown serious commitment to keeping the Utah State Fairpark where it is for years to come.

“This summer, we are looking forward to lots of fun events at the Fairpark, in addition to the Fair in September (9/8-18),” said Mullenax. Kooring added, “We’ve got great events coming like the Artists Blacksmiths Association of North America biennial conference which will have thousands of international metal artists, educational events and markets (7/13-16). The Vans Warped Tour (7/30) is coming back and will bring thousands of concert goers. The Utah Beer Festival (8/27) will move from Washington Square to the Fairpark this year and the proceeds will benefit the Utah Humane Society.”
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Legislature Not Total Loss for Utah State Fair

When the REAL Salt Lake withdrew from the agreement to build a soccer stadium,

Photo by Examiner.com

many recognized that a unique opportunity to stabilize the future of the Utah State Fairpark had been lost. But, perhaps, the biggest disappointment during the Utah Legislature was the failure of the Legislature to vote to encourage the Governor to sign a long-term lease with Fair for use of Fairpark.

The Fair did, however, receive a $675,000 appropriation. Proposed legislation that would have required votes by Legislative committees before the Utah State Fair could sign a sublease with another group, something not required by current law – the bill, HB430, passed in the House of Representatives, however was not acted upon by the Senate.

Breaking: Deal Signed between REAL and State Fairpark Board of Directors

Today the Utah State Fairpark Board of Directors signed an agreement with the REAL Salt Lake ownder Dell Loy Hansen to build an $18 million, 8,000 seat stadium at the Utah State Fairpark.

Hansen has agreed to pay the entire cost of the stadium’s construction after initially proposing to form a public-private praetorship to build the stadium. Per terms of the agreement, the minor league Real Monarchs will operate and maintain the new stadium. The deal is contingent on the state extending the Fairpark’s lease— which expires in 2017 — on the state fairgrounds site for an additional 40 years.

Read the article here.