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Spokane County Fair & Expo staff report lower attendance, outline $1.47M capital plan
Summary
Fair & Expo staff told commissioners attendance dipped about 6% and presented revenue highlights and a $1,469,000 capital request for 2026 including a new electrical switch for the campground and a fire suppression project for the ag complex.
Spokane County Fair & Expo staff briefed the Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 6 about this year’s fair results and plans for capital work in 2026. Staff reported a modest decline in attendance and a capital funding plan totaling roughly $1.47 million.
Why it matters: The fair is an enterprise fund that generates event revenue, concession and carnival commissions, and parking income; fund performance and capital requests affect the county’s enterprise planning and potential requests to the REIT fund.
What staff reported: Fair leadership said attendance was down about 6% from the prior year, affected by smoke and late-season weather, and that concession gross sales across the fair’s 10 days were about $2.5 million. The county collects roughly 22–24% of concessions and about 30–40% of other concession/carnival commissions (staff cited 40% for carnival and ~30% on alcohol commissions). Carnival revenue was down approximately $70,000 and concessions down about $21,000 compared with the prior year. Parking revenue declined by about 5,500 transactions; staff said the county spends roughly $160,000 to hire a parking-management company for the 10 days and another $60,000–$70,000 on traffic control.
Capital and operational asks: Staff outlined $1,469,000 in capital projects for 2026, including installing a fire suppression system for the agricultural complex, replacing the primary electrical switch for the campground (staff requested $250,000 from REIT 1 toward the estimated $500,000 project), continuation of a campus-wide Wi‑Fi upgrade (~$59,000), new tractors and arena groomer equipment, two golf carts/UTV, and replacing the floor in the railroad building to enable multiuse events. Staff said some larger campground-phasing costs could be phased into later years if needed.
Partnerships and operations notes: Fair staff said they piloted a partnership with the Spokane Indians for garbage collection and continued to use an outside vendor for concessions and janitorial services in prior years. They also noted the 2026 fair dates would be Sept. 11–20.
Limits and next steps: No formal budget vote occurred; staff asked for REIT consideration on the campground electrical switch and indicated final capital and fund decisions will be part of the county’s 6‑year CIP and the December budget adoption process.
