Fairgrounds review committee heads to Independence for ideas

The Boone County fair has packed up and moved on for the season. Now it’s time to decide what to do with the more than 125 acres owned by the county.

“It’s a great time for us to pull in a lot of different ideas. Some of them might work very, very well for space. Then we’ll have to figure out what makes economic sense for the citizens,” said Teresa Maledy with Central Missouri Events Center Review Committee.

The Central Missouri Events Center Review Committee hit the road Monday in search of ideas for the property.

The committee is made up of past and present city and county leaders. Their first stop was Independence to tour the Independence Events Center. The facility has concert space and an ice rink with its own minor league hockey team.

Afterward, the committee headed to Overland Park, Kansas to tour a soccer complex among other facilities.

Paying for any future development is a major hurdle for the committee. The millions of dollars it took to build the majority of venues the saw were paid for with tax dollars.

“We’ve go some pretty good things going on in Columbia at substantially less cost. I think what we need to do is see what can improve and if there is anything that the Central Missouri Event Center can offer that we’re not adequately taking care of right now,” said Mayor Bob McDavid.

Committee members said the Boone County fair has not been forgotten. They said one of their goals is to help ensure the future of the fair, which could include keeping it in its current location.

“It could be that there’s a way to fit that into the property. We just maybe need to be creative figure what need and require for a fairground. Because I think right now, we would all agree that it’s not maybe laid out as efficiently as it could be,” said Maledy.

The committee said this is just the beginning of the development process and another trip could be planned to visit sports facilities in St. Louis.