FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — A $10 million facelift for the Minnesota State Fair will include metal detectors at entrance gates, construction of a year-round ticket office, improvements to livestock buildings and other upgrades such as painting, landscaping and other projects across the fairground.
The projects by the self-supporting fair continues a decade-long trend of upgrades to the historic 322-acre fairgrounds, according to a news release.
“We’ve looked at adding metal detectors to our public safety program for a while now,” State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer said in the release. “We added bag checks in 2016, and this is the next step in maintaining a safe and secure environment.”
All projects will be funded through State Fair operating revenue and grants from the Minnesota State Fair Foundation. The fair receives no government aid of any kind, the release said.
The Minnesota State Fair is “one of the largest and best-attended expositions in the world, attracting more than 2 million visitors annually.”
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This year the fair runs Aug. 27 through Sept. 7.
