Montgomery County Fair officials to break ground at new location

“It’s a new and exciting beginning,” said John Yancik, president of the Montgomery County Agricultural Society Board.

The new event center and fairgrounds will include several climate-controlled buildings and repurposed existing structures on the 150-acre park property. The fair board is actively pursuing sponsorships to defray costs, including offering naming rights to new air-conditioned buildings.

“Our new facilities will not only host the Montgomery County Fair, but will also be available for weddings, receptions, meetings, events, get-togethers, retreats, offer camping and other amenities year-round,” Yancik said.

Family members of Judge Arthur O’Neill Fisher, the park’s namesake, have been invited to attend. Fisher, who died in 2002, was a Tuskegee Airman, and broke color barriers working in Montgomery County prosecutor’s office, as a Dayton Municipal Court judge and on the bench in county common pleas and juvenile courts.

Saturday’s event will have a distinct fair flavor – with funnel cakes and lemonade available – and feature remarks by county and state elected officials, Yancik said.

Architectural drawings for the $15 million first phase of construction have been turned over to the county for approval. The fair board expects the project to be substantially completed in time to hold the 2018 fair at the new location July 9-14.

“It’s just a matter of getting everything approved in order to start turning dirt.”

Premier Health and the University of Dayton, the new joint owners of the Dayton fairgrounds, are expected later this year to outline a public input process in which to consider ways to create a community-minded vision for the property, the organizations said earlier this month in a joint statement.