GOSHEN — The Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds isn’t just home to one of the country’s largest county fairs. It attracts recreational vehicle rallies, auctions and the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale.
Thousands gather, including more than 200,000 during the nine-day fair each July. The rock band Daughtry will take the stage this summer for a concert that some will watch from free grandstand seats and others will buy tickets for so they can sit in folding chairs on the dirt track directly in front of the stage.
Fair officials are proposing relocating that track — all but the stretch between the stage and grandstand — to make way for an expanded livestock show pavilion as part of a master plan that may guide how the fairgrounds change over the next quarter century.
“It’s basically the first comprehensive overall master plan the fairgrounds have ever had,” said Bryan Blair, general manager.
Bullock, Smith & Partners Inc. and Markin Consulting LLC submitted a plan in December and Blair presented it to the fair board Wednesday night.
The fairgrounds at 17746 C.R. 34, Goshen, on the east side of the city, grew with the purchase of 253 acres in 2011. Yet this plan focuses on what’s inside the gates of the fairgrounds, or has been for decades, rather than the new land.
Under the first phase of the plan, a new livestock show pavilion would be built on the grounds. Two livestock show arenas are on the grounds now, but they’re older and 4-H livestock leaders and fair officials have been murmuring about the need for a larger one for a number of years.
“We’ve outgrown them,” Blair said of the buildings.
The new arena could come within the next three to five years, but a few dominoes need to fall elsewhere first, he said. Camping upgrades to help accommodate camping during the fair — as well as a dozen RV rallies during other weeks — are likely this year. In 2019, utilities infrastructure likely will get attention.
In order to build the new livestock show pavilion with several arenas, the draft horse barn inside the easternmost gate to the grounds would need to move. Could it be moved near other horse barns?
Could the track needed for harness racing move to the south while still leaving a stretch of dirt between the grandstands and stage for big events including concerts, the tractor pull and the demolition derby?
Probably.
“It became necessary to look at moving the track,” Blair said.
That may be three to five years away. Blair said they’re getting rough estimates on what this all would cost, yet he’s hoping the fair builds the best building possible.
The fairgrounds also needs a large, climate-controlled exhibit hall. The 30,000-square-feet Building A isn’t air-conditioned or insulated. When RV manufacturer Forest River has a rally there, the 850 or so people want to eat together, but could use a space that size that’s air conditioned, he said.
The Elkhart County Community Center is barely big enough for the non-livestock 4-H exhibits during the fair or for some of Goshen’s signature events, such as the Goshen Chamber of Commerce’s Founder’s Day.
The master plan also includes expanding the carnival space a bit and perhaps moving the 4-H Swine Barn. Parking could expand by 12.5 acres and 1,500 spaces.
All this will take money. Fairs with great weather, such as the one in 2017, help budget for such changes. Fundraisers including an Adult Prom, which will happen for the third time, do too. The fair board has completed more than a dozen projects in the past seven or eight years totaling $4 million and not taken on debt, said Blair.
A county’s fairgrounds can be either a place of pride or something that reminds people of community need. Having a large space used by locals and tourists alike has value, particularly if it can be done through fundraising and partnerships.
Elkhart County’s fair board and others in the community support the fair and the ground it stands on in remarkable ways. Having a plan for how it can change and improve is only likely to enhance what’s already a great fair and set of facilities.
By Marshall V. King