Montgomery County Fairgrounds May Be Up for Sale

Sixty years after turning a swath of land in Gaithersburg into Montgomery County's fairgrounds, officials with the nonprofit agricultural center that owns the property say they are contemplating selling it and moving the fair farther north because of financial concerns.

Members of the Montgomery County Agricultural Center say the cost of doing business and the need to upgrade buildings are forcing them to examine a sale as the best strategy for ensuring the annual fair's future.

Proceeds from the potential sale of the 62-acre site could go into an endowment that would support the continuation of the fair, which drew a record 220,000 visitors last summer.

Montgomery agricultural officials are not alone in their concerns about the fair's future. Although none of the region's fairs seems to be at risk of closing, increasing costs worry the nonprofit boards that put on the annual celebrations from Virginia's Prince William County to Southern Maryland's Charles County.

"It's getting tougher and tougher,'' said Andy Cashman, assistant general manager of the Maryland State Fair.

In Loudoun County, whose fair begins July 28, fair superintendent Terry Corle said the price of fuel is increasing the cost of booking entertainers and carnival rides. Still, the fair in one of Virginia's fastest growing counties attracted 20,000 people last year, which has enabled officials to keep admission prices steady.

County fairs are popular attractions, but face competition from amusement parks and movie theaters in areas such as Fairfax and Montgomery counties where rural traditions are giving way to urban and suburban lifestyles. One example: At one time Loudoun County had about 400 dairy farms; today one remains, Corle said.

"These days we grow more houses in Maryland than crops,'' Cashman said.

Opening day for Montgomery County's nine-day celebration this year is Aug. 8. Along with the traditional livestock exhibits there will also be carnival rides and a demolition derby.

Montgomery's fairground has a lively history. A coffee table book celebrating the fair's 50th anniversary chronicled how 1,500 workers built six barns in a single day, using lumber hauled from Pook's Hill, which today is a neighborhood of single-family homes near the Capital Beltway.

Martin Svrcek, executive director of the Montgomery County Agricultural Center, said the past two years were the best in fair history. With last year's record crowd, the fair made about $50,000 profit. But that's not enough to offset the cost of air conditioning or heating buildings and powering rides. Compounding the problem is that many of the original buildings have never been upgraded, Svrcek said.

The cost of running the fair has increased from $4,600 a day in 2002 to $5,300 a day last year, he said.