By Christopher Curry

Staff writer Gainesville Sun

The county fairgrounds hummed with activity this weekend as knights jousted and crowds gathered during the annual Hoggetowne Medieval Faire.

Despite the activity outdoors, county officials say -- and have said since 2000 -- the site's buildings have long outlived their usefulness as venues for fairs and other events. Malfunctioning, antiquated lights and the lack of an air-conditioning system are two of the maladies at the exhibition hall. Over at the pole barn, the roof leaks "like a sieve," says Robert Avery, the county's superintendent for Recreation & Parks.

The county's proposed solution is ambitious and expensive -- development of a new fairgrounds and redevelopment of the current fairgrounds site adjacent to Gainesville Regional Airport into a business park.

That two-pronged approach has been in place since 2003, when Gainesville and county officials adopted the Plan East Gainesville vision for economic development. But planning it and paying for it are different matters. The projected cost for the first phase of the fairgrounds exceeds $22 million. With identified resources to meet approximately half that, county officials might gauge private interest in funding a portion of construction.

Tuesday, the County Commission is scheduled to vote on whether to seek letters of interest from firms that would forge a public-private partnership to develop the new fairgrounds and redevelop the current site.

Assistant County Manager Rick Drummond said one option to lure the private sector was the granting of rights to redevelop the current fairgrounds into a business park through a long-term, low-cost lease.

"We want private interests to develop that," Drummond said. "The county is not going to develop that into a commerce center."

The current fairgrounds property lies within the city of Gainesville's Eastside Community Redevelopment Area and a designated state Enterprise Zone, both of which offer a developer the possibility of tax incentives.

If commissioners move forward and the private sector responds, Drummond said the next step would be a more-detailed request for proposals.

To date, the county has invested at least $2.14 million in the new fairgrounds property, located off Waldo Road near the Leveda Brown Environmental Park & Transfer Station. The approximately 150-acre property was purchased for $2 million during the 2006-7 fiscal year. Another $89,000 was invested in a master plan for future facilities, and $49,500 has been spent on a business plan.

The first phase would include a 45,000-square- foot exhibition hall, a 50,000-square-foot livestock/equestrian arena, the road network, the midway, an events lawn, parking area and site work.

The new fairgrounds is one of the projects approved for funding through the 2-cent increase in the tourism development tax county commissioners passed last year. Its financing is expected to receive about $10 million from that tax, which is added to the bill for stays at hotels, motels and short-term rental properties. Drummond said approximately $1.4 million also has been set aside from the general fund.

The county's vision is a venue to host not only local fairs and livestock shows but equestrian events, concerts, trade shows and perhaps even the occasional monster truck show.

Alachua County Visitors and Convention Bureau Director Roland Loog said the venue could attract boat shows, R.V. shows and the like. He said currently organizers of such events have "stopped calling Gainesville because they knew we didn't have anything for them."

The rural and agricultural community expressed mixed feelings about the new fairgrounds plan.

"Our old fairgrounds definitely needs some revamping," said County Extension Director Cynthia Sanders, who has been involved in the youth livestock fair since about 1980. "You look around the state at some other county fairgrounds, and Alachua County's doesn't rank with them."

Still, Smith added that the reality is that the county does not have the funding to develop the new fairgrounds.

Beyond the money issue, Ward Scott, chairman of the county's Rural Concerns Advisory Committee, was worried agricultural-based local traditions such as the county fair and the youth livestock fair would get lost in the mix as the county looks for a facility that draws larger events.

"From our point-of-view we want to make sure it maintains its rural identity," Scott said.

Right now, the future of the county fair is unknown. After a 40-year run, it was canceled last year because the nonprofit fair association had not paid some vendors and exhibitors from the prior year.

Drummond said the county's plans will accommodate the long-running local fairs. The old fairgrounds cannot be closed down until the new fairgrounds is up and running.

The county's full vision for the new fairgrounds is a three-phase development that could exceed $50 million and eventually include an arena.

Contact Christopher Curry at 374-5088 or chris.curry@gvillesun.com.