KRQE-TV: More State Fair Troubles

From KRQE-TV.com - ALBUQUERQUE - This year's numbers are out: more and more people are staying away from the state fair and once again fair revenue is way down. The fair barely broke even this year. It costs about $5-million to put on the fair. That means the fair made less than $200,000 this year. One State Senator says it's a simple fix: give people more of a reason to come through the gates. He doesn't think the fair is in danger in the short term but State Senator Tim Keller represents the area around the fairgrounds and he thinks the State Fair needs to be more ambitious if it wants to survive. Only 370,00 people paid to come through the gates this year. That's down a whopping 30% from five years ago. Keller wants more money to be spent on bigger acts. "Better concerts or whether it's the bengal tigers," added Keller. But Expo New Mexico officials say that's easier said than done. "The Willie Nelsons and the Clint Blacks (were on stage) in better economic times which the fair has done. But when the economies not so good, there's not so much money in the budget," says Michael Henningsen, Media Director of Expo New Mexico. It's a Catch-22. Expo New Mexico doesn't have enough money to hire bigger acts because the fair isn't making enough money. This year's fair brought in a half million dollars less than last year's; down more than $2-million from 2007. Read more

KRQE-TV: More State Fair Troubles