Jan. 17, 2022

Minnehaha County commissioners will consider a resolution Tuesday on whether to establish a task force that would review and establish a future vision for the William H. Lyon Fair Grounds.

“It’s very much a concerted effort of the entire commission,” Commissioner Dean Karsky said. “We just know we need to address it, the public expects it, and we feel the fairgrounds deserves the attention it needs.”

Winona Axtell gifted the land for the fairgrounds in memory of her husband, William, in 1938 and 1942.

More than 600,000 people attend an event there annually, the commission estimates. The site, which is commonly referred to as the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds, is at 100 N. Lyon Blvd., near Interstate 29 and 12th Street.

“When we got the fairgrounds, they weren’t even close to being in town, and now they’re kind of in the middle of town and can’t be annexed into the city limits, according to the titles,” Karsky said.

In creating the task force, the commission “seeks to focus future county investments, community support and donor gifts, both for facilities and general operating support, to best meet the needs of the community and the intent of the Lyon’s gift,” according to the resolution on Tuesday’s agenda.

The 12- to 16-person task force would be comprised of community members who do not have anything financial to gain from any recommendations, including facilities, financials, events and opportunities. The task force would work with a facilitator to review the history of the fair, community needs, community support for the activities at the fairgrounds and create a vision for it.

While there have been some updates to the property, many of the facilities are “extremely aging,” Karsky said.

“The speculation to bring everything up (to date) would be $40 (million) or $50 million, so that’s a significant lift,” he said. “And we give the fairgrounds a quarter-million a year to fund the operation.”

Everything is on the table, he said, including potentially relocating the fairgrounds.

The task force analysis and recommendation is estimated to take a year.

“It’s going to be a work in progress,” Karsky said, adding the commission welcomes public input Tuesday and going forward. “This is the first step. We definitely as a commission want the public involved in this. It’s critical for the success of it.”