Attendance at the Clark County Fair last month was up 4.5 percent this year, county commissioners were told Wednesday, and the fair made enough money that it won’t need a cash infusion from the county’s general fund.
The fair also maintained its ranking as the top fair in the state, which locks down state financing for next year, said Fair Manager John Morrison.
Morrison said invoices are still trickling in, but he expects a net revenue of approximately $250,000 with gains across the board compared with last year’s numbers.
Last year, the 10-day fair lost $11,000, Morrison said.
Attendance was 254,797, up from 2009’s 243,698 but still below the 10-year average of 266,596.
The opening day, with its free pancake breakfast, drew 40,121 people.
While attendance numbers reflect everyone who walks through a gate, paid attendance was down 1 percent.
Morrison told commissioners that the fair was on pace to draw more than 270,000 people, but as temperatures rose into the high 90s on the final two days of the fair, attendance dropped. On that final weekend, rides had to be temporarily shut down because the seats were too hot.
Food and beverage sales exceeded $1.5 million, including items sold in the amphitheater, which was the site of three concerts.
The Scorpions was a sellout, but sales for Miranda Lambert were disappointing given the number of awards the country singer has received, and pop group Boys like Girls was a difficult act to sell, Morrison said.
The concerts netted $88,000, said Justin Kobluk, executive director of the Clark County Events Center at the Fairgrounds, which allowed the fair to stage two free shows a day in its grandstand.
Kobluk said headlining acts will be booked for the amphitheater next year, and organizers will try to find a better mix of free shows to offer.
Morrison said rodeo shows and motorsports went over well, but the Wild West Show? Not quite.
Commissioner Steve Stuart said he saw part of the show but didn’t stick around.
“You left with the rest of them,” Morrison said.
Dock Dogs, Valentine’s Performing Pigs and the petting zoo were fairgoer favorites, Morrison said.
Crowds responded enthusiastically to changes in the fair’s food court, he said. Hula Boy did $40,000 in sales after replacing Taste of Texas, which did $15,000 worth of business last year. And Izzy’s BBQ did $52,000 in sales, triple the business brought in last year by Lazy Pig BBQ.
Commissioner Marc Boldt said that fair attendance could be better, but considering the recession and a county unemployment rate nearing 14 percent, he was pleased with the turnout.
Boldt, Stuart and Commissioner Tom Mielke were especially pleased that the county doesn’t have to take from its general fund to help the fair fund.
The county relies on the fair to turn enough profit to help sustain the events center and horse arena.
