NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Kansas State Fair will be a safer place at night this year, and also less expensive for the Kansas State Fair Board to run.
"We've invested over $300,000 in lighting, changing out all of the old metal halogen lighting to LED," said Kansas State Fair General Manager Bryan Schulz. "It's going to be a lot brighter out here and cost effective."
Schulz sees the potential for continued growth at the fair in his fourth year.
"When I first started my first year, we were at about 278,000 people," Schulz said. "We went to 316, last year, we were just shy of 331. I'm thinking just looking at concert tickets and pre-sales, we could be back into pre-COVID of the 350,000 mark."
If you're still looking at coming to a concert later in the fair, there are lots of options available.
"We've got three tiers of seating," Schulz said. "You can actually sit up in the grandstand. If you want to get down in the VIP area, if you purchase a table, you get six people to come sit with you. If you want to do a standing room only, that gets you up on the concrete. But the nice thing about it is you also get a couple beverages and some food that goes with it. So you kind of get your VIP experience. Then you step down into Kansas Star Casino's party pit, which is right in front of the stage."
You can find out more about what is still available at kansasstatefair.com.