Newly-purchased 225 acres will be new home for East Texas State Fair

By KARI KRAMER | East Texas Edition

June 30, 2005 - The East Texas State Fair will undergo several changes following a June 16 announcement that 225 acres have been purchased for a new fair site.

The announcement was made during the association's annual meeting in Tyler. For those involved with the fair, the purchase was no surprise.

Alice Emmons, the fair's general manager, said the association has long been hoping for a new fair location.

"We've talked about it for the last 20 years," she said. "We started to go forth with it four or five years ago."

At that time, the association formed committees and began searching for adequate properties.

In 2004, the first two of three pieces of land were purchased. It was not until May of this year that the final, largest piece, of property was purchased.

With the announcement of the new property, located off Loop 323 between State Highways 31 and 64, came visions of what the fair would include after it moves to its new location in 5 to 10 years. Expanded exhibition facilities and an equine center are among the plans for the new location.

Emmons said a first-class equestrian center will definitely be part of the site. The center will be able to host rodeos and other events throughout the year and is expected to be an added source of revenue not only for the association, but for businesses in the area.

"The biggest change will be the economic impact it will have on the area," said Emmons.

In addition, Emmons said the association is planning to add events to the fair lineup, as well as expand events currently held.

"The people will have a lot more opportunities because we will have a lot more room," said Emmons.

Fair goers are not the only ones expected to benefit from the new location, exhibitors will be able to take advantage of new, more complete facilities.

"We're going to have more room for our livestock show," said Emmons. "And we want to have them all in buildings."

In the current location, Emmons said tents are rented every year to house livestock projects. She added that on several occasions exhibitors have been turned away because there was not enough space available.

Emmons said the the association hopes to complete the project "as soon as possible," but there is still plenty of preliminaries that need to be addressed.

"We've just started getting our steering committee together," she said. "We're planning and making sure we have what we need."

The 225 acres should be sufficient compared to the meager 75 acres presently utilized for fair operations. But the new jagged property lines are surrounded by additional available lands that the association is aware of.

"There's a possibility that if we need more land we may inquire," said Emmons. "Some of those people are not ready to sell their property. We'll just have to see how things materialize."

Until the new site is completed in 2011 or later, the 90-year-old fair will remain at its existing location near the Harvey Convention Center and the Tyler Rose Garden.