With Higher Costs & Lower Popularity, State Fairs Reaching a Crossroads (NYT)

From the New York Times:

State Fairs, Sagging, Arrive at County Crossroads
By MONICA DAVEY
Published: August 16, 2006

Attendance has been dropping sharply in recent years at state fairs in the nation’s midsection, reports the New York Tiems in a front page article.

An auditor general’s report found that the Illinois fair spent millions of dollars more than it brought in last year, as it had in years past.

Elsewhere, the problems have grown severe enough to lead political leaders to question the spending of tax dollars to keep the fairs afloat.

“Nothing is forever,” said William M. Napoli, a state senator in South Dakota, where a legislative committee concluded this year that the state fair’s fate appeared bleak and where some lawmakers want it abolished.

“We’re trying to keep a dinosaur alive that’s probably outlived its purpose,” Mr. Napoli, of Rapid City, said.

For more see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/16/us/16fair.html