It has been interesting following the debate over whether or not the State Fair should move from its current digs to make way for UNL's proposed Innovation Park. In the beginning, there was a lot of distrust of UNL, and the notion that the Fair should move was unfathomable to most. Or at least, to most of the people who commented on the Journal Star's online stories. Now that the Fair is all but certainly headed to Grand Island, the tide has turned. Today's comments are mostly supportive of the move, and the proportion of folks welcoming the tech park with open arms seems higher than even just a few weeks ago.
On the plus side, Lincoln will probably get its tech park. There's every reason to suspect that will be good for the community in many ways. I can't wait to see how it looks 15 years from now.
On the flip side, I'm worried about what the State Fair will look like in 15 years. I'm not as fatalistic about it as many people are. But I'm wary.
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...I’m sad to see the fair leave State Fair Park. Without the fair, I almost certainly wouldn’t be here (my parents met at the fair).
While moving the fair from its current location doesn’t bother me all that much, moving the fair to Grand Island all but assures it will never be anything more than an overblown county fair and ag trade show. While state fairs are obviously rooted in agricultural tradition, the few state fairs that have ever become something “more” (Iowa, Minnesota, Texas) all have one thing in common
I hate to see the state fair leave Lincoln.
FYI - The Hall County Fair is hundreds of times better than the Lancaster County Fair.
So wasn’t the state fair responsible for something like $30 million added to the local economy? I realize that the research park is supposed to bring $1 billion over the next decade, but I can’t help but think the absence of State Fair revenue will be noticed before the research park dough starts pouring in.
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