The North Texas State Fair Association announced October 3 the acquisition of 109 acres from the John Porter Lifetime Trust. The property is located on Ganzer Road across from the Buffalo Valley Event Center. The land is in close proximity to I-35, with frontage to the south on Ganzer Road and to the north on Milam Road, just north of Denton.
“We put together a long-range planning committee several years ago, and after a lot of due diligence this property was selected. We want to thank John Porter and his family for working so well with us and making this happen,” says Glenn Carlton, the Association’s Executive Director. “This is an exciting time for the Fair Association and the community it serves.”
Carl Anderson, president of the Association stated, “Although we have no immediate plans to build, it will be interesting if the project picks up some steam with this announcement. If you have been to the fair in the last few years, it’s pretty obvious that we are out of room.”
The annual North Texas Fair and Rodeo is held in August of each year. The current economic impact of the event is approximately $6 million dollars to Denton County and has an approximate 4.5 million dollar impact on the City of Denton each year.
The North Texas Fair and Rodeo recently completed the 86th annual event with record attendance of over 160,000 people. The Fair has been at its current location since 1949. The original 22 acres was sold to the Fair Association by Dr. Wallace Kimbrough for $5. The Association later purchased 11 more acres, bringing the total size to 33 acres.
The North Texas State Fair Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Each year the Association and its associates contribute nearly $500,000 in scholarships, donated use of the facilities, project support and much more to the Denton community.