By Meredith Gardner and Harold Reutter
The Independent

On Monday, the Legislature's Agriculture Committee essentially named Grand Island the best site for the State Fair when it approved LB1116 in a 7-1 vote. At the same time, the committee determined the highest and best use of the current fair site would be as a University of Nebraska research and innovation park.

Officials across the state said LB1116's passage through the entire Legislature would be a positive move not only for the local community, but also for the state as a whole.

"By moving it to Grand Island, we can rejuvenate and modernize the State Fair," said Gov. Dave Heineman in a phone call to The Independent. "Secondly, we now have the opportunity to take State Fair Park and transform it into a research and innovation park for the University of Nebraska and, long term, creating higher paying jobs in the state."

For Grand Island, the fair would be expected to bring in dozens of new jobs, including year-round, full-time State Fair employees, said Don Dunn, chairman of the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

The $42 million that would be spent to build the State Fair facilities would be a significant investment in the community, Dunn said, and the new buildings would also make Fonner Park and the Heartland Events Center even more attractive for events throughout the year.

Having larger events at the HEC and Fonner Park could bring more service-related businesses to Grand Island, including shopping centers, hotels and restaurants, Dunn said.

The 2007 State Fair itself had an attendance of nearly 300,000. And while Grand Island is hours away from the state's major metropolitan areas, Dunn said he is confident a quality fair would continue to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors. The city has a retail trade area of 320,000 people.

While backers of the Heartland Events Center knew the facility could do great things for Central Nebraska, it's likely no one envisioned that the 6,000-seat arena would help bring the State Fair to Grand Island, said Hugh Miner Jr., president and CEO of Fonner Park.

If the State Fair does come to Fonner Park, "It will change the makeup of Grand Island forever," Miner said. "Economically, it will be a big boost."

Grand Island Mayor Margaret Hornady agreed.

"I'm thoroughly delighted," she said. "This is the best news we've had for a while."

The ag committee's vote reflected the tremendous effort and hard work of local leadership who sought to bring the State Fair here, Miner said.

The Grand Island recruitment group has consisted of representatives from the city, chamber of commerce, Grand Island Area Economic Development Corp., Heartland Events Center, Fonner Park, state Sen. Ray Aguilar and former mayors Ken Gnadt and Jay Vavricek.

Since October, the group has been working to show the ag committee what Grand Island has to offer the fair, said Cindy Johnson, president of the Grand Island chamber.

"I think we've put together a very well developed proposal that addressed the issue of the State Fair's needs," including its vision for the future, Johnson said.

The city has an exceptional site already in place and a welcoming community, Dunn said, which is likely what nudged it over the top.

"We're elated," Dunn said. "It's been a long time coming. It's been a lot of hard work."

Jerry Fitzgerald, chairman of the State Fair board, credited the group with presenting Grand Island as a city that could viably host the fair.

The transfer of state-owned land from one public entity to another would be unprecedented, Fitzgerald said.

But combined with Fonner's existing facilities, the revised LB1116 would give the fair board a chance to reshape the event as a new entity, he said.

"It gives us an opportunity to really put on a Nebraska State Fair that the whole state will be proud of," Fitzgerald said.