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State Fair and Wildlife & Parks briefed the committee on maintenance, debt payoff and visitor-center grants
Summary
Luke Drury told the committee that Kansas State Fair operations shifted recent spending to upgrades such as the Bison Arena and that previously issued expo-center debt service will be paid off in the current fiscal year; he also noted KDWP expects federal funds and ARPA dollars to be expended in FY26 and referenced a $10M tourism grant for visitor centers.
Luke Drury, senior fiscal analyst with Legislative Research, briefed the Joint Committee on capital-improvement items for the Kansas State Fair and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP).
Drury said the State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson cover about 280 acres and include more than 70 buildings. The agency’s FY26 request is roughly $500,000 below the approved amount because of ongoing maintenance, and recent higher expenditures reflected state general fund appropriations for projects such as the Bison Arena. He noted debt service tied to 2021 expo-center bonds will be paid off in the current fiscal year, after which the State Fair will have no debt service obligations tied to that issuance.
On KDWP, Drury said FY26 shows higher spending than recent years largely because a number of federal funding streams and grants are now available after federal reviews. He said KDWP will spend remaining ARPA dollars (about $600,000 still available) and that the department received a roughly $10 million tourism-related grant from the Department of Commerce for visitor-center updates and new construction. Members asked whether cabin-site development funding appears in FY26 but not FY27; Drury said cabin projects are fee-funded and can fluctuate by year and that KDWP’s current request does not include cabin development funding for FY27.
The committee received both briefings and did not take formal action because it lacked a quorum.
