DES MOINES, Iowa — For the first time in its 161-year history, the Iowa State Fair will no longer have grandstand races, according to board officials, who voted to drop the longstanding events in February.
"After looking through multiple years of declining racetrack attendance numbers, we just couldn’t fiscally and responsibly sustain racing during the state fair," said Gary Slater, Iowa State Fair CEO and manager, last week.
But according to a report from KCCI in Des Moines, rumors were swirling around the racing community that the board wanted to cut grandstand races to make more room for parking. Tony Moro, who owns an auto body shop in Des Moines and is one of the state fair racetrack promoters, told KCCI he questioned the track’s future and the board’s intentions with the iconic grandstand.
"You know we’ve heard those rumors, over and over again," he said. "I don’t know that. I hope not. And that’s one of the reasons if someone didn’t come out there and really try to make something happen out there at the track, pretty much you could see the handwriting on the wall," he said. "That’s where it is headed."
Slater dispelled those rumors, saying, "The board listened to the fair-going public and chose the evening entertainment based on what they were asking for."
While grandstand races will not be part of the 2015 Iowa State Fair, which will run Aug. 13-23, Slater said racing on the grounds is still taking place each Friday night in the summer, "just as it has for many years."
"In terms of the fair, the fair chose to have a tractor and truck pull and musical events in the grandstand this year," he added.
Among the musical events scheduled to perform at this year’s fair are Casting Crowns, Justin Moore, Def Leppard, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Yes and Toto, the Grand Outlaw National Tractor and Truck Pull, Alabama, The Fray, Meghan Trainor and Rock-A-Thon, featuring Dee Snider, Dokken, Warrant, FireHouse and host Eddie Truck.
"We are listening to the fair-goers and are striving to put popular acts and events in the grandstand," Slater explained. "The board makes changes at the state fair under careful consideration and takes cues from general public. We see the number of tickets sold to concerts and other events continue to be strong each year."
Stretching 600 feet along the Iowa State Fairgrounds’ Grand Concourse, the grandstand is one of the largest facilities on the property and a focal point for large public gatherings, ranging from annual, top-name concerts to sporting events, according to board officials.
The fairgrounds and the adjoining 160 acres of campgrounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with most of the buildings pre-dating World War I.
Currently, the grandstand features a half-mile dirt track for car races, demolition derbies and tractor pulls, with two separate halls providing nearly 30,000 square feet of enclosed area for trade shows, training exercises and vendor exhibits.
Moreover, Slater emphasized the Friday night grandstand races would continue as scheduled every week until the fair begins.
Julie Herrick, executive secretary at the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, said although the commission "regulates pari-mutuel wagering at the horse and greyhound racetracks, and riverboat/gambling structure casinos … We do not r
Also canceling bird exhibitions
The Iowa State Fair already took a hit when the state issued a ban on May 21 on commingling of birds for the rest of the year, which has caused fairs to eliminate presentations and competitions involving live poultry and waterfowl. "The scale of this outbreak has been unprecedented, so we think it is important we take every possible step to limit the chance that this disease will spread any further," said Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey.
egulate any racing that occurs at the fairgrounds."
