Are most state fairs in large cities? Here’s what we found

PUEBLO, Colo. (KOAA) — For years discussions have come up over moving the Colorado State Fair from its home in Pueblo to somewhere else in the state like Denver. This year, the fair has a new General Manager, Andrea Wiesenmeyer, who says she does not see a need to move the fair out of southern Colorado.

“For me a part of what makes a fairground really, really special is the traditions and the memories that you build,” Wiesenmeyer said, “for me, it only makes sense that the heartbeat of the fair is at a location where it’s been for years and years.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by people at the State Fair, many of whom News5 found were from Pueblo and surrounding areas.

“It's tradition, keep it, it's been a part of this for so long, I don't see why people would want to change it, it brings people to Pueblo, and as you can see everyone's having a good time, so I think it should stay,” Danielle Lamberson, from Ordway, said.

Pueblo has been the state fair's home for more than 150 years.

2024 attendance numbers were down slightly from 2023, with numbers hitting 493,234 and 509,156, respectively. Those in favor of moving it in the past have argued that moving it to the Denver metro would mean more money and more people attending.

“It’s true there probably would be more people but is there more cowboys? I don’t know,” Ray Cook, who now oversees a collection of memorabilia at the Colorado State Fair museum on the fairgrounds his father started, said.

It begs the question, where are most state fairs held across the country?

News5 identified 49 state fairs across the country and of those 26 are held in a large metro area for that state. News5 defined “large metro” as a city in the top 5 of its state’s population or suburban areas near the largest city in the state. News5 did not research the financial state of every state fair in the country for this report.

Of the large metro fairs, eleven are also held in its state capital city. Four states: California, Illinois, Nevada, and Oregon hold state fairs in their capital city that are not among the top 5 large metros.

Pueblo was classified as a “regional hub”, not among the top 5 largest cities, but it’s a significant city to the southern part of the state, there are eight other states that host state fairs in regional hubs.

Idaho is unique in that it hosts three state fairs in three regions of the state: West, East, and North.

In the past five years, investments have been made in Pueblo for the state fair to the tune of $10 million. That’s one reason some fairgoers told News5 it doesn’t make sense to move. Others argued Denver already has Elitch Gardens, major sport teams and events like the National Western Stock Show.

A state audit from 2024 showed the Fair reported an operating loss of more than $4 million. Weisenmeyer pointed out that there could be challenges to moving it to a larger metro area like Denver.

“In larger markets, you've also got larger competition and so therefore I'm not sure it would make more money. Also, you'd be looking at picking up over 100 acres of grounds and facilities and infrastructure here and putting it somewhere else. I'm not sure that's a great cost-effective decision for the state either,” Wiesenmeyer said.

While state audits have pointed to an operating loss statewide, other economic impact reports show the fair brings in a lot of money to Pueblo. The last economic impact study in 2021showed a benefit of about $1.8 million in tax revenue to the city and county combined. The report said the state receives about $2.5 million in tax revenue from the fair The total economic impact to the local economy was more than $55.5 million, which was reported to include both direct and indirect spending.

For people in Pueblo, the fair is an annual event they've gone to since their younger years. That's the case for 83-year-old Jay Shultz, who said he's been coming to the fair since he was three. He hopes the fair does not move out of his hometown but also said, "if it happens, it happens, it's like anything else that happens."

____

Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.