PUEBLO, Colo.—Attendance for the first seven days of the Colorado State Fair is up 4 percent from last year.
State Fair general manager Chris Wiseman said people looking for economical activities not far from home may be behind the boost.
The fair began Aug. 28 and runs through Labor Day. Almost 487,000 people visited it last year.
In its 137th year, the fair remains an economic anchor for the Pueblo area, where manufacturing jobs have come and gone. The fair is making money after having cleared $3 million in debt and after reversing a string of losses earlier this decade with the help of a $650,000 annual state appropriation.
Sales and lodging tax collections in Pueblo typically spike during the 11-day event. About 22 percent of Pueblo’s lodgers tax is collected in August and September.
Last year $111,401 in sales tax was collected at the fair, or 3 percent of the total sales tax collected from all businesses in Pueblo.
“It’s big for us. It’s definitely one of our busiest times of the year,” said Roxy Gilbert of the Ramada Pueblo.
The hotel is typically 40 percent booked, but its occupancy rate is usually at least 70 percent during the fair. Rooms command a premium rate of $100, up from the average $85.
The fair has 22 full-time employees who oversee the fair and several other events through the year. About 700 temporary workers are hired for operations and maintenance during the main event.
A 2003 analysis by Colorado State University-Pueblo calculated that the state fair generated $22.6 million a year in direct spending and indirect economic spinoffs.
“Sometimes you hear that state fairs have outlived their usefulness,” said Rod Slyhoff, president and chief executive of the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce.
“Well, I totally disagree,” he said. “You can’t mention Pueblo without mentioning the Colorado State Fair.”
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Information from: The Denver Post,
