OUR VIEW: County fairs should be profitable

Our Top of Utah county fairs seem stuck in an economic mudhole.Everyone likes the county fair. No one wants to get rid of it, but there seems to be a distressing consensus that the fairs just can’t make money. Weber County provided a subsidy of $95,000 so its fair could break even. Davis County pitched in a $23,000 subsidy for its fair and Box Elder County ponied up a subsidy of about $27,000 for its fair.

That disturbs us. Why are these high-profile events losing money every year? The county fair should be an economic generator. Running a fair each year in the red should not be acceptable. But listen to this quote from Davis County Commissioner John Petroff, “It’s like parks. There’s no revenue gained from building parks in our community, In fact, it costs a lot of money, but they provide such a quality of life. ... You can’t look at it in dollars and cents but what it adds to the community in terms of quality of life.”

With all due respect, one criteria for the county fair must include looking at it from a dollar and cents perspective. The county fair is a traditional, signature event. Resigning one’s self to the idea that a fair not meant to make money is an excuse for not promoting it sufficiently.

Top of Utah counties need to aggressively seek a wide variety of entertainment and other events that will draw more people to the fairs. They need to find the right mix of traditional fair activities and new attractions to bring crowds that will spend money. We recall Weber County nixing cage fighting from its fair. Given that Weber’s fair is falling more into the red each year, we suggest that events such as cage fighting get a second look. We recall that it was a popular option at the fair.

We also recommend that the counties work with marketing and promotional experts in their communities who will volunteer their time and expertise to make sure that the county fairs are an economic success. This can be accomplished. What is needed is the drive and determination to work outside the traditional parameters to maintain the fairs’ tradition and draw in the crowds.

We love our county fairs and never want to see them go away. If they continue to have consistent taxpayer subsidies each year, that sad outcome will always remain a possibility.