Officials with the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center hope to see major facility improvements in the next few years.
For more than a half century the Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville has been home to the National Farm Machinery Show.
Saturday marked the end of the four-day 2017 event. Kentucky State Fair Board President Jason Rittenberry said more space is needed for events of all sizes. He appeared before the Senate Agriculture Committee last week.
“The conventions and trade shows such as the RV Industry Association,” he said, “that’s another show that takes up every square inch of our facility that could use additional space as well.”
Rittenberry said if Cardinal Stadium, declared unsafe, is torn down, a new agri-business center could be built on that site.
The Fair and Exposition Center is also home to the Kentucky State Fair in August and the North American International Livestock Show in November
A request for state funds to address facility needs is likely to come during the 2018 General Assembly session. Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said all funding requests must be evaluated.
“I’m sure that there are needs at the fairgrounds and at the exposition center. But, there are a lot of needs in this state,” he said. “The number one need is we’ve got to start filling in our pension hole and until we get that done everything else is going to be subservient to that.”
