Bangor fair has no plans to relocate

BANGOR – The Bangor State Fair is staying put, at least for now, even though a Pennsylvania gaming and racing company plans to develop Maine’s first racino at Bass Park.

Under the city’s development pact with Penn National Gaming, Penn would have to give the city two years’ notice and $1 million toward relocation costs if it wanted the fair to move from Bass Park.

So far, no one has made that request, according to both a Penn National spokesman and Mike Dyer, director of Bass Park, where the fair will open Friday.

Asked if Penn plans to request that the fair be moved, Penn National spokesman Eric Schippers said late last week that it is too early to tell.

“We are still in the early stages of discussions with the city on our proposed economic development plans, so I’m afraid I don’t have any specifics on that yet,” Schippers stated in an e-mail.

The Bangor State Fair typically draws between 60,000 and 70,000 people a year and traditionally has been held at Bass Park, home to some type of annual agricultural fair since at least as far back as 1883, when the Eastern State Exposition took place there.

Penn plans to build a racino with as many as 1,500 slot machines in a casino building at Bass Park. It’s not yet known where on the site the racino and its accompanying infrastructure, such as parking lots, would be located. Some of that will be driven by state gaming regulations still being formulated.

Schippers said a time frame for the construction has yet to be determined.

“While the licensing approval process for a slot machine operator could be completed as early as September 30, 2004, the additional licensing of entities such as slot machine manufacturers and distributors, and final promulgation of the rules are required before slots can become operational and before construction of the new gaming facility can begin,” Schippers wrote.

He added: “We’re anticipating the whole process could take approximately a year to 18 months.”

That could push any racino-related work at the city-owned complex into late 2005 or early 2006.

The Penn spokesman pointed out that his company is a major sponsor this year of the Bangor State Fair.

Dyer said that from his standpoint, it’s in the city’s best interest to ensure the fair has a future. The state fair yields the city profits of $20,000 to $80,000 a year.

“The fair, from the city’s perspective, makes a lot of sense,” he said. “It comes during a slow period in the [entertainment] industry, and it helps our bottom line.”

Dyer has considered the concept of moving the fair elsewhere at Bass Park, namely onto the harness racing track on the Buck Street side of the complex.

Under that scenario, the agricultural components would move into the track’s horse barns, which, unfortunately, have stalls instead of open pens and aren’t designed for easy access to animals by judges and visitors.

But if the fair must move out of Bass Park, its agricultural component would be the most difficult aspect to maintain, largely because the city would be hard-pressed to find a site that offers the infrastructure available at Bass Park, which includes several barns and pens and access to power, water and exhibit space.

Moving the carnival midway, now operated by Fiesta Shows, would be less of an issue because Fiesta brings its own infrastructure and generates about 70 percent of the electricity it needs. With the likelihood of a racino in its future, the city’s contract with the company now is renewed annually.

Fiesta pays the city almost $66,000 a year to set up at the fair. In addition, the city gets a percentage of ride tickets.

According to Dyer, replacing the fairground would cost well over the $1 million the city would receive to relocate the fair. Ideally, a new site would encompass 30 to 40 acres and have electricity and water. Barns or some other shelter would be needed to house the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Old McDonald Farm exhibits and the beef, sheep, goat and other livestock events held by 4-H and other groups.

“But then you’d be under the gun to find uses [for the facilities]for the rest of the year,” Dyer said. “It doesn’t get any easier and it doesn’t get any cheaper to do these things.”

To Rindy Fogler, agricultural superintendent, and Michaele Bailey, 4-H coordinator, the agricultural aspect of the fair is a tradition worth maintaining.

“It gets in your blood,” said Fogler. “It’s a unique thing.”

The fair allows youth involved in 4-H programs to display their projects and, for some, the chance to auction the animals they’ve raised, said Bailey.

Benefits for the larger community include a firsthand look at how the food we eat makes it from the farm to the kitchen table.

Fogler noted that the fair offers Maine farmers, many of whom travel the statewide fair circuit each summer, needed exposure.

“It’s how they market their commodities,” she said.