People visit the Boulder County Fairgrounds fairly often during the year, especially during the once-a-week Farmer’s Market and the Fair and Rodeo. They would like to see the Fairgrounds get a bigger indoor space for conferences and better internet connections.
An indoor pickleball facility at the Fairgrounds would also be nice.
At least that’s according to over 300 residents who participated in two surveys conducted this fall by Boulder County officials and its design team to gauge interest in making some changes at the Fairgrounds. The surveys are part of a long-range effort to piece together a master plan for the 80-acre facility.
The master plan process will continue on Tuesday, March 8 when Boulder County Public Works and Open Space departments invite the public to attend an online meeting to learn more about three conceptual options that will help guide the future of the Fairgrounds, according to a Boulder County news release.
The public meeting, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m, will include a presentation and a question/answer session.
The meeting will be held via Zoom and registration is required. The registration link is: https://boco.org/fgmp-march8
The current Fairgrounds site was established in 1978 and has not had any significant updates since then, according to the Boulder County Fairgrounds website. There have been some minor additions, remodels and groundwork to make the buildings and grounds more functional.
The Fairgrounds has evolved into a multi-purpose facility supporting over 1,037 events in 2018 including the 10-day Boulder County Fair. It also serves as an evacuation center for disasters, according to Boulder County.
Boulder County and its contractor, Design Workshop, conducted two surveys last fall. The first was a keypad polling survey that took place at the first public workshop on Nov. 16, and the second was an online survey done from Nov. 10 through Dec. 16, according to Boulder County.
Eleven questions were contained in both surveys and the online version had 275 respondents and the in-person polling session had 27 participants, according to the county.
The participants were almost all from Longmont, ages 51-60.
A majority of the survey participants indicated they visited the Fairgrounds from once or twice a year to weekly, according to the survey results.
They most often visited the Farmers Market and the Boulder County Fair and said they considered all of the facilities necessary. A majority also agreed the Fairgrounds should be inclusive and “community-serving.”
A majority also said the facility needs a larger indoor meeting place for conferences and banquets and much better WiFi connections. And many of those that selected “other” on the survey, said the Fairgrounds needed indoor pickleball.
The facility also needs more restrooms, trees and shaded areas, respondents said.
After Tuesday’s meeting, an online survey will be made available on the project website: www.BoCo.org/FairgroundsMP to gather additional feedback.
