GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — The largest indoor video screen in the Midwest got its unofficial preview Wednesday at the new home of the Nebraska State Fair at Fonner Park in Grand Island
Located in the livestock arena, the 34 by 12 foot, high-definition color video screen will give fairgoers a closeup view of action in the livestock arena and around the fairgrounds. Accompanying the video screen is what State Fair officials describe as “a rock concert type arena sound system.”
Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., who toured the fairgrounds with State Fair officials Wednesday, was impressed by the big screen and the overall construction of the new State Fair facilities.
“Way to go, Grand Island and State Fair board and all of the partners that have made this happen,” Johanns said. “I have not been out here before, so all of this is fresh. When we drove up and I saw how much construction had occurred so quickly, I was just flabbergasted.”
The Nebraska State Fair will run Aug. 27 through Sept. 6.
Construction on the new State Fair facilities began in July 2009. After a little more than a year, construction is near completion on the fair's livestock complex that contains the show arena, beef and sheep barn and cover about a 300,000-square-foot area. The 80,000-square-foot swine barn is adjacent to the larger livestock complex. Construction is also nearing completion on a 70,000-square-foot exhibition building north of the Heartland Events Center and another 30,000-square-foot exhibition building.
“People need to come out here and see this because they won't believe it,” Johanns said. “In terms of a state where our No. 1 industry is agriculture, I really believe that this State Fair is going to pay tribute to agriculture and what that means to us.”
During the tour, Johanns learned that livestock numbers in all categories are up because of the new facilities. Livestock exhibitors from more than a dozen states will bring their animals to Grand Island to show at the new facilities.
“That's a very positive sign because that brings families out to the fair,” he said. “There's a lot of interest out there.”
Johanns said with the new facilities and the large number of people who will be drawn to the fair, “... this is a huge economic driver for Grand Island and Nebraska.”
And Johanns, who served as U.S. secretary of agriculture during the Bush administration, said the new facilities are among the best in the United States and will attract national livestock and agricultural shows throughout the year.
“This will be the heart and soul showcase of Nebraska agriculture,” he said. “We have gone from having very old buildings, struggling to maintain them, to a very state of the art.”
Part of that state of the art is the technical innovations added to the new facilities, such as the large video screen in the livestock show arena, said State Fair Board Vice Chairman Tam Allan.
“We thought what was very important, along with our technology package with all the fiber optics connecting all of the buildings, was having the largest live screen in the Midwest broadcasting high-definition quality that celebrates Nebraska agriculture and technology,” Allan said.
It's Allan's understanding that the Nebraska State Fair at Fonner Park will be the largest public area in the state that will have a wireless network covering more than 100 acres.
“While this is our first year and we will still be refining things, this will be a virtual fair for the state of Nebraska and we can video stream events here live throughout the state of Nebraska,” he said. “We have all the technology in place and hopefully anything we can think of in the future to allow for, we just have to figure out how to maximize it. It should be a lot of fun this first year.”
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