La Plata County’s fairgrounds was originally agricultural property separating Durango and Animas City. In the late 1940s, when infrastructure improvements were more than Animas City could fund, the two towns merged. The property, about 23 acres, was wholly or partially owned by the streetcar company that served Durango, and in the late 1890s was acquired by the county. Structures would be added, anchored by a horse racing track and grandstand and horse stalls.
Later, down came a subsequent grandstand and stalls that had been built partially with stone. Baseball fields were added where horses had run. A building for agricultural extension services and meeting rooms, and a large convention hall, went up, with county fair-related buildings at the rear.
It all was workable, mostly, until islands and landscaping made maneuvering through the park lot a challenge – or an impossibility – for trucks with livestock trailers.
After a few decades, and user concerns about the current fairgrounds’ age and other shortfalls, La Plata County now has a master plan to better use most of the 23 acres. The analysis of what’s there, what the needs are, and what the fairgrounds could be, looks to be very complete and thoughtful. Planners, engineers and a couple of dozen meetings with users shaped its contents.
As a touchstone, of sorts, aggregate improvements are estimated at $27 million. But given the uncertainty of the size and timing of funding – possibly grants in addition to annual Colorado Lottery receipts which recently were $400,000 – that could easily change and will be approved each year and phased in. The county does have $7 million in hand, now.
Most significant of the planned changes is the demolition of the extension building and relocation of its offices and meeting rooms to a second floor added to the exhibit hall building. That could be about $12 million. Expect, too, that vehicle traffic routing through the fairgrounds will be opened up for better truck and trailer maneuverability.
Other possible changes that could take place: the plan emphasizes how much use the exhibit hall kitchen receives and suggests that should be enlarged. So, too, how little usage the large baseball field receives in contrast to the smaller field, and that the pavilion between the two is seldom used. Sixty parking space are proposed.
Before we pave over paradise, the Herald’s editorial board suggests considering the outdoor needs of the Durango Community Recreation Center, which is bursting at the seams, and the city’s growing multimodal goals for more pedestrian and bike access. After all, city residents are county residents, too.
Or another idea, could the repurposing of a portion of the ball field accommodate development of a several hundred seat event and performance center via a public-private partnership? And while the grassy strip along the fairgrounds’ edge with North Main has a very appealing look, it requires mowing and irrigation. Perhaps the Durango Botanic Gardens would be interested in taking it over?
Likely little known is that the senior center building is a part of the fairgrounds. So, too, is the boys and girls club and recreation center, all leased from the county. As we consider uses for this site, perhaps an extension to the senior center could play a role in adding to community child care facilities, a need uppermost on many minds, by bringing seniors and young children together. Grand parenting 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. is what that could be. Perhaps that could justify and fund reopening the center on Fridays? We’d really like to see the joint city-county sales tax restore that $18,000/year line item.
Whether the fairgrounds with its multiple, new and improved facilities and truck and trailer access, will ever be suitable for horse and cattle activities is uncertain.
There are those who want the county to be open to the possibility of another location, beyond the edge of town, specifically for large animals. If possible, it likely will be some time in the future before that occurs.
It’s good to have a thorough review of the fairgrounds’ facilities and the many possibilities to improve them. We look forward to some work, however partial, getting underway.
