For the first time since Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed spending $50 million to update the New York State Fairgrounds in Geddes, central New York is getting a look at some of ways that money could be spent.
Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney capped off her annual State of the County address last night with talk of the fair.
“We’re going to rebrand the fairgrounds as a New York-themed theme park,” said Mahoney.
What does that mean? An Equestrian Park made up of new arenas and stabling for up to 1,000 horses that would make central New York the show horse capital of the Northeast; an expanded midway and a 50,000 square foot ice-plex that would be used for hockey games and tournaments; an RV park and campground with 1,000 full-service sites; and a film-friendly streetscape that could be used by movie makers.
All these plans would mean repurposing parking lots, and shifting grandstand shows to the new amphitheater on Onondaga Lake, according to Acting Fair Director Troy Waffner.
"When the fair puts on a show at the grandstand we have to build a stage, we have to put up lighting, we have to put in seating, the amphitheater will have all that. There’s a permanency there, so it makes all the sense in the world,” said Waffner.
For Mahoney, pouring more money into entertainment venues like this is the way of the future, with a county budget that is largely dependent on sales tax dollars.
“We have to have the economic activity, so year after year after year, we bring people to town, that sales tax revenue is generated, and we fund our budget with it,” said Mahoney.
Cuomo weighed in on the vision in a statement released last night that calls this an impressive plan to create a year-round facility and help revitalize the western shore of Onondaga Lake.
“You’re talking about the first real development on the fairgrounds in almost a century. And it’s going to give us the ability to reimagine one third to one half of the fairgrounds,” said Waffner.
The state legislature has the final say on whether or not to spend the $50 million on the fair.
