Clark County Council looks at ways to pay for $30 million fairgrounds remodel

It will take more than a fresh coat of paint or repaving the parking lot for the aging Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds to meet future needs.

County staff presented a new master plan for the facility to the county council in July that included more than $170 million in upgrades. On Wednesday, the county council began looking at how to fund the $30 million it would take to pay for a new covered pavilion, roadwork and a marquee sign at the Northwest 179th Street entrance.

To identify the most immediate needs, staff looked at the age of the existing facilities, the face of the event center, how people, animals and traffic enter and exit the site, and the food and beverage needs of the event center and the Clark County Fair, Amy Ihrig, managing director of events, told the council.

"Another priority that we are addressing with this proposed list of projects is a need for modern dedicated exhibit space and flexible meeting and banquet space," she said.

The fairgrounds concession stands, which are outdoors and lack access to water and electric service, are only used during the 10 days of the fair, Ihrig said. Reducing the number of stands while adding a covered pavilion with permanent food spaces, seating and a kitchen would allow the site to be used for both indoor and outdoor events.

"We get a lot of requests from people who want to bring in their own food and beverage for a private event, such as a quinceañera or a wedding reception," Ihrig said. "We also have a lot of people that just want to bring in an outside caterer, and at this time, we don't have a kitchen that is available to even ... wash dishes or anything. So that would allow us to provide that capability as well."

During the fair, which features more food sellers, space would be available for food trucks, tents and other outdoor spaces.

The estimated cost of the pavilion, including architectural and engineering planning and construction, is $10.6 million.

Mark Gassaway, finance director for the county, said the majority of the costs for the initial projects would be paid for by the state tax credit approved by the Legislature in 2002 for local governments to build regional facilities.

"That was the impetus for creating the exhibition hall initially. The primary funding source for all of these projects is the state sales tax credit; it's not an additional sales tax," Gassaway told the council. "If we don't have a regional project or we don't have a way to spend it, we don't get (the funds)."

The most expensive project on the streamlined list is replacement of the south exhibit halls and new internal road, totaling close to $15 million.

"We would like to build a new rentable facility that can be split into smaller, more flexible rentable spaces to address meetings in the range of about 50 to 200 attendees," Ihrig said.

Currently, the only climate-controlled rentable space available for meetings is the exhibition hall. Even with portable walls, the smallest space available is 21,000 square feet, which is much larger than is often needed, she said.

In just the past three months, Ihrig said four potential clients passed on renting the facility because the size was wrong.

The new spaces would also be climate controlled, unlike the current hall which often goes unused during the colder months.

Other planned work includes relocating the maintenance shop and yard, which are located inside one of the event center entrances. The estimated cost is $4.1 million.

Ihrig said relocating the shop would free up prime space for new facilities and would help create a more inviting entrance.

The last of the projects on the list is the marquee sign, at a cost of $640,000. With four lanes for traffic, Ihrig said the Northwest 179th Street entrance is used for larger events like the fair. However, the entrance does not currently have a sign.

"We are requesting to add a marquee at that location so that we can designate that as the location to our facility," she said.

With the council's approval Wednesday, staff will now draft a bond resolution for council approval later in the summer.

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