Time to move State Fair to Grand Island

It's time to face facts. The powers that be must either make massive changes in the Nebraska State Fair, or drop the annual exposition altogether.

The need for action is imminent because the State Fair is in a deep financial hole, created by plunging attendance and the year-around staffing and maintenance of the fairgrounds property in Lincoln.

How serious is the situation? In the words of the fair's assistant executive director, Joe McDermott, "It will probably be in November when we won't be able to pay our payroll, as well as our payables."

It is estimated the Nebraska State Fair Board needs $400,000 by mid-November. And, by the end of the year the board needs to come up with a plan for reducing its debt of $1.1 million.

Hopes of doing that have been dimmed by two things. First, the Nebraska Legislature slashed state funding for the fair by $293,000 in 2003, and, second, the state took in $220,000 less than it spent to present this year's fair. Added together, this means a loss of more than a half million dollars in fair funding, making an already bad situation worse.

So what should be done? In the opinion of Nebraska State Sen. Tom Baker of Trenton, it's time for the Nebraska State Fair to pull out of Lincoln and move to Grand Island. His idea is to combine the event with Husker Harvest Days, using the facilities at Fonner Park for state fair events and exhibits.

Others in this area understand why the state fair is having problems, and see no problem with moving the state events to Grand Island.

"Major entertainment events just cost so much these days," said Deb Lafferty, secretary for the Red Willow County Fair Board. "If you get a top act, you can't sell enough tickets, even at $26 each, to cover the cost. And, if you get a lesser known act, you can't get a crowd." In Red Willow County, the fair board has had to come up with low-cost alternatives for entertainment, but it's doubtful that would work on the state level, where fairgoers have come to expect big name entertainers.

As far as Donna Kircher, the Red Willow County 4-H Aide, is concerned, it wouldn't be a problem to move the State Fair to Grand Island. "It would be more convenient since it's closer than Lincoln," she said. Most years, Red Willow County takes 50 to 60 4-H exhibits to the state fair, including five or six in livestock classes. In the open classes, very few exhibits from the county go to state. "Usually, the only one exhibit which goes to state is the Best of Show winner," Lafferty said.

For the past 135 years the State Fair has been a special part of Nebraska life, providing a showcase for 4-H, agricultural and open class exhibits. That tradition needs to continue, but -- unless drastic changes are made -- the State Fair needs to be staged at a different location than Lincoln.