With ribbon cutting of new expo venue, Canyon County Fair officially marks new chapter

CALDWELL — Though the building was completed just in time for last year’s Canyon County Fair, the ribbon was officially cut Thursday on the fair’s new exposition venue, The Center, during the fair’s opening day.

“Several people said to me, you are crazy for scheduling this on the opening day of the fair, and now, this morning, I can confirm they were all right,” the fair’s director, Diana Sinner, told a gathered crowd. “But I wanted to do the ribbon cutting on this day because this isn’t just a new building, this is the newest part of a 138-year-old tradition.”

Construction of the 45,000-square-foot building, which includes a 30,000-square-foot exposition room, began in June of 2021 and ended in November the following year.

Work continued on site improvements and the installation of infrastructure like pedestrian bridges and walking pathways.

“We added a pathway all the way through Gabiola Field to meet up with Simplot Stadium, with street lighting,” said the county’s facilities director, Rick Britton. “Soon to come, we’ll have speakers where we’ll have music and stuff on the pathways as well.”

The total cost of the project was just under $8 million. Financing came from Caldwell’s Urban Renewal Agency (URA) funds — which covered the $2.5 million in exterior updates — public capital improvement funds, the sale of an old fair property and annual ticket sales.

The facility was freshly ready to go shortly before last year’s fair, but since there was little planning time left until opening, it was decided that a ribbon cutting ceremony would be delayed a year.

“This is an awesome place to be. We totally are thrilled with this new building,” said Debbie Steiner, whose Quilts of Valor chapter has a table inside the expo hall. “It’s definitely a lot warmer. It has more bathrooms.”

Outside of the last weekend in July, The Center is available for rental. On weekends, the space costs $3,000 per day to rent. The figure drops to $2,500 on weekdays. Setting up and tearing down costs $1,000 per day, and special services are $60 per hour. Renting The Center also requires a $500 deposit.