The choosing of State Fair dates come from a long tradition of wrapping up county fairs in Nebraska. Our event is always 11 days and ends on Labor Day. If you’re not sure what our dates will be 2 years from now, find Labor Day on the calendar for that year and count back 10!

Like most State Fairs, we keep the same dates year-over-year to help guests plan but also to route vendors, concessionaires and entertainment coming from other Fairs and festivals in the region.

The City, Chamber of Commerce, and many other community leaders led the effort in 2008 to relocate the Nebraska State Fair to Grand Island. The group identified the important role agriculture plays in Grand Island and the belief that the Nebraska State Fair would benefit from a central Nebraska location. Grand Island leaders recognized the impact that being the home of the Nebraska State Fair would have on the community and surrounding areas. The opportunity to relocate the Nebraska State Fair was presented when the University of Nebraska identified the State Fairgrounds in Lincoln as their preferred site for the University of Nebraska Innovation Campus. 

The bill, LB1116, was approved by the Legislature in 2008. The Fair officially moved to Grand Island on December 31, 2009. 

The Nebraska State Fair has not increased adult gate admission since 2016.

Adult admission increased from $10 to became $12 in 2016.  Youth & Senior rates increased from $5 to $6 in 2024. Adult admission is still $12 and youth and seniors are still just $6 in 2025.

The State Fair runs promotions all year to offer guests major savings, as much as a $7 discount per ticket, if they buy ahead. Guests will pay full price for an adult admission ticket when they wait to purchase it at the fair.

The fair also hosts $3 Tuesdays and a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Lunch Bunch Promo which allows guests from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. to buy a full price admission ticket at the gate and get a food voucher of same gate admission value, for free.  Example: Buy a $12 admission at 11 a.m. and get a $12 food voucher for free.  Veterans and active military personnel also get in for free on Labor Day with their military I.D.

No, the Nebraska State Fair is not a full government agency; the Fair is a quasi-government agency. Technically, the Fair is a non-profit (501(c)(5)) organization created by the State of Nebraska. Specifically, it’s a not-for-profit corporation called the Nebraska State Fair Board.

The Nebraska State Fair is funded through a combination of state lottery proceeds and 10% Host City match of the state lottery proceeds, required by state statutes, revenue generated from fair operations (like entry fees or advertising/sponsorship).

In the Fair’s year-end 2024 Audit, there was $12,215,464 total revenue. The Fair’s operations make up 55% of that revenue forecast. The Nebraska Lottery makes up 40% of the revenue budget, and the Host City Match amounts to about 4% of the State Fair’s total Revenues in the 2025 budget.

A Nebraska Constitutional Amendment, adopted by Nebraska voters in 2004, sets forth the allocation of Nebraska Lottery Funds as follows: 10% of Lottery proceeds to 4 beneficiaries: Education, as directed by the Nebraska Legislature (44.5%), Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund (44.5%), Nebraska State Fair (10%) and Compulsive Gamblers Assistance.

Criteria for proceeds distribution are established by the beneficiary funds in accordance with legislative mandates.  Every county in Nebraska has received service through grants funded with Nebraska Lottery proceeds. 

When the Nebraska State Fair was relocated to Grand Island, the City of Grand Island became the Host City and accepted statutory requirement to match 10% of the annual funding the Nebraska State Fair receives from the Nebraska Lottery. Over the last 15 years, this equates to $6 million from the City of Grand Island. The City has historically taken these funds from the  food and beverage tax; property taxes are not allocated for this use.

Other uses of food and beverage tax funds, similarly, are Grow Grand Island, City Parks and Recreation and Husker Harvest Days.

No – The Nebraska State Fair does not receive property tax funding from the State, County, nor the City of Grand Island.  The only tax dollars brought into the fair is the City’s 10% match that is required based on NE Lottery proceeds (referenced above).

For the past 13-14 years, the Nebraska State Fair has leased the 15 Acre pasture that the Fair now owns. The pasture is adjacent to the equine Vet Clinic on Stolley Park Road (south of Fonner Park Campus).

The pastureland was and will continue to be used for livestock check-in, vet checks, and overflow parking for trailers and vehicles during the State Fair and the Aksarben Stock Show.  Leasing this land eliminated a tremendous amount of vehicle congestion on Stolley Park Road and allows trailers hauling livestock a safe place to pull off the roadway and into the Livestock Check-In line.

The Veterinarian who owned the vet clinic and pastureland announced his retirement in 2023 and noted his property, including the vet clinic, was for sale in 2024.  The Fair was posed with the question… Would the Fair run the risk of losing access to that space for both Nebraska State Fair and Aksarben Stock Show?  The answer, if yes, could dramatically change the current livestock parking and check-in for both events and would certainly impact roadway traffic on Stolley Park Road as well as pedestrian parking in our general public lots.

The veterinarian’s main goal was to sell the vet clinic.  The Fair’s main goal was to secure the pasture.  The Fair Board had many discussions internally and with our legal team about the feasibility of the property and its value.  Acknowledging that the Fair owned very little land/facilities currently and is essentially land-locked, unable to build new facilities to accommodate future growth upon Fonner Park Campus.

At about this same time, the City of Grand Island and Fonner Campus were performing parking assessments.  Counting stalls available and the necessary numbers for facility operations showed the campus is currently in a deficit for parking for current as well as any future facilities.

Unlike governmental entities such as the City of Grand Island, the Nebraska State Fair does not have eminent domain power which means we cannot force a sale of real property for fair market value. The Nebraska State Fair negotiated and purchased the entire property for $4.25 million. The preference remains to sell the vet clinic and any assets the buyer is interested in on the east parcel of land.  We recognize the tremendous need in Central Nebraska, specifically across from a horse racing facility, to fill the void that the former equine vet left upon his retirement.  The Fair has the property listed for sale and is open to any offers of sale or lease for the equine vet clinic for a qualified equine vet or vets who can serve our community.  The facility has been publicly advertised and available for sale since January 2025.  The Fair has advertised on Equine and/or Veterinarian exclusive outlets and will continue to expand our outreach.

Several years ago, the Fair would not have been in a place financially to invest in land adjacent to Fonner Park.  Understanding the long-term investment and healthy financial standing of the organization, the Fair proceeded with the purchase, and we believe it is a true investment that opens the door to future possibilities for the Nebraska State Fair. 

Absolutely.  In fact, the Fair has reinvested $15M into building improvements and $7.78M into equipment and fixtures since moving to Grand Island. 

Some of the biggest projects include

• Construction of the Nebraska Building
• Sidewalk along Stolley Park Road
• Footpaths to the Outdoor Concert and Motorsports Venues
• Upgraded video screens in all the “new” barns and the Livestock Arena
• Installation of bird netting in rooftops
• Replacement of flooring in an arena
• Taken multiple turns to deep clean the barns
• Investment into pens, panels, chutes, scales, and equipment for livestock shows
  
  

The investment list is extensive, and the Fair has pride in projects that have been completed as well as projects to come.

In 2022, the Nebraska Legislature approved $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for infrastructure at Fonner Park. This funding was allocated to address storm water drainage issues and to expand parking capacity on the campus.

Initially, the Nebraska State Fair applied for $27 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, eventually gaining approval for $20 million. Alongside Olsson, the Fonner Park Campus entities have since continued to team up for a two-phased bundle of projects to drastically improve stormwater drainage.

Phase 1 is mostly completed, as Olsson graded the infield of the Fonner Park training track and was able to separate the motorsports track outside of the infield/outdoor concert venue, graded and paved the driving aisles in the east lot, as well as enclosing the ditch on the west side of the animal buildings. Furthermore, Olsson installed brand new underground detention and filtration systems on site to hold and to help clean stormwater and connect with the city system.

What is now visible is Phase 2 of the project, which includes major improvements to the south parking lot of Fonner Park, between the Heartland Event Center and Stolley Park Road. Olsson is adding new concrete and storm sewer work underground, the closing up of the underground work will result in the entire lot will end up being resurfaced. We are also improving lighting, poles, internet connections, power connections, as well as new parking stall layout that improve the ingress and egress of the public parking year-round, in the lot S of HEC. Over on the pink rock approaches to the newer barns on campus, ARPA storm water pipes pick up facility down spout runoffs underground and moves that stormwater away from the building faster and out of site. The above ground here will be a softer imprint on Fonner Campus. It will have wenzhou seating walls that hold up flower gardens, turf grass will be planted, and some new shade structure will be installed.

Later in 2025 and mostly in 2026, Phase 2 brings ground grading dirt work, water swells, storm sewer, and paved drive lanes to the soft surface parking lots on the west side of the Fonner Park campus

The Fair was the official applicant and is the responsible facilitator of the projects and funds. Those entities who helped with the application and who shared letters of support for the ARPA application include: Fonner Park, The City of Grand Island, Hall County Board of Commissioners, Grand Island Community Redevelopment Authority, Grand Island Tourism, Grand Island Area Economic Development Corporation, GROW Grand Island, and the Heartland Event Center. 

The Nebraska State Fair owns the Nebraska Building and a maintenance facility compound.  Otherwise, the space we use to host the annual State Fair event is done so under a contract with Fonner Park.

A campus master plan exists, and Nebraska State Fair is eager to complete the current ARPA storm water improvements which will set the campus’ foundation right for potential improvements. There are many stars that need to align, but there is hope that more facilities to support your Nebraska State Fair will be coming up next.

It takes a village to make the Fair happen! The Fair only employs 16 full-time, year-round employees (FTE) and 2 part-time, year-round employees (PTE). However, come August, there are over 500 people on the payroll for the biggest event, the Nebraska State Fair. 

Complete application to join our team today at State Fair Job Opportunities | Nebraska State Fair.

There is also a very powerful arsenal of yellow shirt volunteers. Many of the ‘Can Do’ minded individuals have volunteered at each of the 15, going on 16 Fairs in Grand Island. This is a program that is nationally known, recognized, and envied by our fair peers. In 2024 a total of 741 individuals volunteered 15,332 hours. Volunteers have a wide variety of roles. From set up to hospitality to assisting with educational programs, greeting, and information, basically volunteers are everywhere at the Fair. The Fair celebrates volunteers each year for their achievements by offering a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner and award ceremony recognizing those who hit hourly milestones from the previous State Fair. Currently, there are 148 volunteers recognized on the volunteer tribute wall. Each one of these individuals has given 300 hours. This tribute can be found on the east side of the Nebraska Building. There are also 66 volunteers within the program that have given over 500 hours of service to the Nebraska State Fair.  We are so appreciated to all that come out each year and donate their time and talents.  Sign up today to volunteer at State Fair Volunteers | Nebraska State Fair!

It should be recognized that State Fair Staff and Board also volunteer in Grand Island and across the state of Nebraska. In 2024, the FTE Team gave 495 hours of service to benefit 82 Nebraska non-profit organizations. 

State Fair Staff also volunteer at Nebraska County Fairs. We started our County Fair Tour in 2023 and already have 26 county fairs officially served by State Fair staff, with an additional 9 county fairs on the calendar for 2025 (as of July 11, 2025).  In 2024 alone, the State Fair Staff gave 17 county fairs 224 hours of service. Volunteering is often as rewarding to the volunteer as it is to any event or organization.

The Nebraska State Fair has a significant positive economic impact on Grand Island, generating millions of dollars annually.  The fair attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors, boosting local businesses like hotels and retail shops, and injecting money into the broader regional economy.  In addition to direct spending, the fair also contributes to the local economy through job creation and investments in infrastructure. 

The last formal Economic Impact study was conducted in 2020 and provided that the fair’s total impact was over $20 million.

Fair officials are gearing up for an economic impact study to be conducted following the 2025 Nebraska State Fair.

The Nebraska State Fair staff works with a talent buying agency to buy talent for national concerts.  The Fair recently awarded a new talent buyer contract beginning in 2026. The new talent buying agency has already begun working to book for the 2026 Nebraska State Fair.  This agency is called Triangle Talent and is a new partner of the fair.

The Nebraska State Fair is committed to finding the right medium of talent for our demographics and space accommodations. 

The Heartland Event Center is made available for State Fair use for 31 days including the 11 day State Fair.  The arena, owned by the City of Grand Island, can accommodate 5,400 seats. When shows are held in the Heartland Events Center,  the HEC and Fair split net profits of food and beverage sales inside the Heartland Event Center. The Heartland Event Center does charge a per seat facility fee on each ticket sold for a Nebraska State Fair show, held in the Heartland Events Center.

Our outdoor concert space, TD Landing, has received a number of upgrades in the last year including being built at a very slight incline, filled with sod, improved stage presence and VIP experiences. The fire marshal has set a capacity of 9,000 people in this space, if configured for a larger concert; however  due to logistics and safety associated with ingress and egress safety at entry and exits, the State Fair has chosen to keep capacity closer to 7,000 until additional improvements can be made to get people in and out in a safe, timely fashion. The Nebraska State Fair hires staffing for the bar areas in the outdoor space which is an additional source of revenue.  Concessions at the outdoor venue are operated in the same way as all other concessions on grounds – the Nebraska State Fair receives a percentage of all food sales. 

We endure a number of costs because of this including rentals and labor associated with mobile bleacher seating, walkway covers, large tents, outdoor chair and tables, etc. Hosting concerts outdoors in late summer months has a number of risks associated with weather but being able to help recoup costs on food and beverage can offset deficit of high entertainer costs. 

In 2016, the fair brought Keith Urban and Pentatonix to the fair and nearly broke-the-grid. About 14k people at each show caused guests to stand in line for hours waiting to enter the concert space. Feedback was that the experience for guests was horrible and putting that many people in a small outdoor venue lowered overall guest experience. Attendees wrote letters to the editor and stated over and over they’d never attend a State Fair concert again at that capacity. 

 In 2025, at the request of the fair concert attendees, going public, the fair made the decision to diversify genres in the lineup after nearly a full-country slate in 2024. Guests last year asked for more diversity and we answered with Christian, 70s southern rock, 60s contemporary, a comedy show, a FREE country headliner, Hard Rock, 90s/00s pop and a Latino concert.  

The Nebraska State Fair Board approved an $1.3M concert budget, $850,000.00 is being divided amongst 7 shows across 11 days. The 8^th show is presented by a third-party promoter. This budget although significantly less than 2024 allowed for a diverse lineup and limited risk associated with the rising cost of up-and-coming artists.  

The State Fair Board is evaluating this budget allocation in 2025 but believes it was a good move to make shows available all week long, bringing people to the fair and helping to keep vendors busy all week, instead of only on weekends. 

Many artists have moved to a fee structure that provides a flat amount for payment + an additional percentage after a certain number of tickets have been sold.   The Nebraska State Fair staff will work with Triangle Talent to identify potential artists for our size of Events Center and outdoor space.

Much discussion is being had regarding a likely change to the concert budget and the way it is allocated (how many days, genres, etc.) Discussions are in process with the Fair Board to determine what kind of change makes the most sense for the Fair. 

For the last 5 years, Older Nebraskan’s Day shows haves sold out since moving inside, Christian concerts have also sold out. In 2024, Turnpike Troubadours sold over 6,500 tickets. In 2022 and 2023 Jeff Dunham and Gabriel Iglesias each brought nearly 7,000 to their outside events, with many guests who attended begging for an indoor comedy show. Brian Regan is slated for an indoor show in 2025. 

Get your tickets soon!

Nope! State Fair Team produces the annual 11-day State Fair. Just a few weeks later, we also produce a 4-day livestock show called Aksarben Stock Show.

State Fair has also provided the lion’s share of the labor, equipment and machinery for the GILCA Livestock Shows that happen at Fonner Park year-round.

Currently, on-campus parking is free to guests. Additionally, the fair offers off-site shuttles that transport guests from Central Community College (south Grand Island) and Sam’s Club (north Grand Island) to the fair for no charge.

The City of Grand Island has a parking lot on campus, northwest of the main State Fair entrance.  This city lot will be paved before the 2026 Fair.  Some patrons have asked for closer and more convenient parking and suggested they are willing to pay for it.  The Board will explore many parking options following the 2025 Fair.

Oh yes, that was a big project!  Started by need, ultimately the plan was funded by the Nebraska State Fair 1868 Foundation.  The City of Grand Island participated with Campus Stakeholders to create a Fonner Park Campus Master Plan in 2021. Global design firm, Populus compiled a list of campus improvements that would aid in tourism and revenue generation for the City of Grand Island.  This Master Plan also uncovered a need for infrastructure underground in order to build future above-ground projects.  The plan is forward and future thinking about what could exist at Fonner Park.  Many community leaders and public came together multiple times to discuss the Fonner Park Campus’ current and future ideas. 

The Master Plan includes:

• Site Analysis
• Existing Venue Inventory and Assessment
• Development Program and Framework Plan
• Illustrative Master Plan
• Feasibility Analysis
• Competitive Comparable Facilities and Destinations
• Market Demand Analysis
• Cost/Benefit Analysis

This is a large document and having the Master Plan was the only way the Fair could secure ARPA funding. 

The Nebraska State Fair operates under the core values of integrity, honesty, respect, accountability and open communication.  Under new administration and staff team in the last three years, the State Fair has implemented a great deal of financial policies, a full and special audit process and Open Meeting Law adherence to ensure transparency.

Board meeting agendas, minutes and financials are all posted (dating back to 2019) on our website and can be viewed by the public at any time. 

The land purchase was disclosed to the public via the Board Minutes.

Though not required to follow state or local government procedure, we do try to follow closely to many government policies that ensure effective and thorough procurement or due diligence.

We are a 501(c)(5) Ag Organization which is a specific type of nonprofit organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States.  Our tax-exemption is based on our mission and involvement in agriculture, cultivating land, harvesting crops, raising livestock, etc.  Other organizations with this distinction (aside from fairs) include farm bureaus, breeders’ associations and rodeos.  This is different than 501(c)(3) which is deemed a charitable organization which offers tax-deductions to its donors.

The State Fair Board is a volunteer board.  Members are offered per diem, mileage, lodging, and applicable meal expense reimbursement.  No other financial compensation is provided for the work they do on the State Fair Board.

The Fair Board has 13 members, including:

•  Four (4) Appointed by Governor, from Congressional Districts
• Seven (7) Nebraska County Fair District Representatives – Elected from Counties within each Fair District
• Two (2) Ex-Officio (4-H Program Administrator and FFA Executive Director)
  • (both non-voting members)

Board members are representatives from across the state, and they have reasonable sum for expenses including mileage to board meetings, meals, and hotel lodging, when applicable.

Board meetings are generally held every 3^rd Friday of the month at 1:00 pm. The January meeting is held in conjunction with the Nebraska Association of Fair Managers (NAFM), in Kearney.  The State Fair Board’s annual meeting is in Lincoln each February. Meetings in August and September occur on Opening Day of the Fair, mid-way through the Fair, and again on Closing Day.

The Board is comprised of thirteen (13) individuals from across the state who are elected through Nebraska County Fair involvement, are appointed by the Governor, or who serve by nature of their career (Ex-Officio).

If you serve on your County Fair Board and are interested in serving on the Nebraska State Fair Board, contact your County Fair District representatives to show your interest. Elections take place in January at Nebraska Association of Fair Managers (NAFM) Conference each year.  It is not a requirement that one serves nor have served on a county fair board.  Any resident residing in a District may seek election.

Governor-appointees must be chosen from one of each of the three congressional districts (districts as declared in 2009) in addition to one selected from the business community of the most populous city within the county in which the State Fair is located.