ARPA-funded renovation of Cleveland County Fairgrounds building officially underway

NORMAN — Cleveland County officials have broken ground on an ARPA-funded remodel of the Cleveland County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall.

The $10 million project to renovate the aging facility at 615 E. Robinson St. in Norman is being funded by American Rescue Plan Act allocations and has been in the design phase with the REES Associates architectural firm for several months. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Friday.

In May 2021, Cleveland County was earmarked to receive $55 million in ARPA funding, and county commissioners began discussing with community leaders ideas about how to best invest the federal funds. Officials said that the fairgrounds event hall could be repurposed to better serve large-scale events, including mass vaccinations, which District 1 Cleveland County Commissioner Rod Cleveland said would be more important than ever post-COVID-19.

"The recent pandemic underscored the need for large, adaptable public spaces capable of hosting events like mass vaccinations and distribution of medical supplies, a need that Cleveland County currently cannot fully meet," Cleveland said.

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By leveraging the ARPA funds, county officials believe a strategic investment into a multifunctional space at the fairgrounds event hall could best serve the residents of Oklahoma's third-most populated county.

"We want this building to serve a variety of public needs," District 3 County Commissioner Rusty Grissom said. "This isn’t just about events or vaccinations or fair exhibits. It’s a space that can accommodate a wide range of current and future needs. That’s a smart investment of federal dollars to serve our county."

The groundbreaking ceremony coincided with the county's ongoing annual fair , a free and family-friendly event held Thursday through Sunday, but construction isn't set to begin until after this year's fair concludes.

The current exhibit hall lacks air conditioning, and commissioners hope to have the fairgrounds renovation completed in time for the fair next year.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: ARPA-funded renovation of Cleveland County Fairgrounds building officially underway