8 proposed fair sites rejected After Lincoln's mayor suggests locations, a State Fair Board official says there still isn't enough money for a move

DATELINE: LINCOLN

LINCOLN -- Nebraska State Fair officials were offered eight possible new locations by Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler on Tuesday, but a fair official said that none of the sites was desirable and that the offers didn't address the biggest issue: money.

"There's simply no money that's available for any move to these locations or any other," said Tam Allan, a member of the State Fair Board.

A Legislature-ordered study last year estimated that relocating the fairgrounds could cost up to $176 million, while modernizing State Fair Park would cost about $31 million.

If the fair had to move tomorrow, Grand Island's Fonner Park would be the choice, Allan said, pointing to its existing facilities and the lower expenses for recreating a new fairgrounds there.

Tuesday's meeting between city officials and Allan came a week before legislative hearings on several bills related to moving the fairgrounds from its central Lincoln home to clear the way for a University of Nebraska-Lincoln research park.

State Sen. Phil Erdman of Bayard, chairman of the Agriculture Committee that will consider the bills, said Tuesday that if Beutler can come up with a new location for the fair, that's fine, but it must be "financially affordable and realistic."

Erdman said he thinks there are only three feasible locations for the fair: its current location, Grand Island and a site along 84th Street in northeast Lincoln.

The lawmaker said a State Fair bill will be prioritized by his committee, guaranteeing a debate on the issue this year by the full Legislature.

One of the proposals before the Agriculture Committee is Legislative Bill 1044. It would move the fairgrounds from its current site by 2012 and set up a commission to pick a new location.

LB 1044 is backed by a group of Lincoln business leaders, the 2015 Vision group, which is seeking the land for the UNL research park.

Also being heard next week is LB 1116, introduced by Erdman. It would require any agency taking over the old fairgrounds to pay at least $30 million for the land.

A third measure, LB 861, would remove a requirement now in state law that the fair be held in Lancaster County. That would clear the way for the event to relocate anywhere in the state.

A delegation from the State Fair Board visited Grand Island on Friday for another tour of facilities at Fonner Park, which include the new Heartland Events Center.

Mayor Beutler turned down a request for an interview, but his office e-mailed a statement that said he was making "every effort to find a site here in Lincoln that meets the Fair Board's needs."

Tuesday's meeting might be a signal that city officials in Lincoln have abandoned the new fairgrounds site pitched by the 2015 Vision group, near 84th Street and Havelock Avenue. The business group proposed that site because it is adjacent to arena facilities of the countyowned Lancaster Events Center.

Allan said Beutler offered eight possible locations, none the 84th Street site.

Two of the sites are farms northeast of Lincoln; two are near the Lincoln Airport; one is undeveloped land along U.S. Highway 77 abandoned by WalMart; one is an undeveloped city park southeast of Lincoln; one is along State Highway 34 northwest of Lincoln, and one is near the city landfill north of town.

Allan said all the sites are too far from existing motels. The present site, he said, is far superior.

He repeated the State Fair Board's position that a $60 million proposal to move to the 84th Street site was inadequate because it relied on a $30 million bond and millions of donations that have not yet been obtained.