New sheep and goat show arena unveiled at Allen County Fairgrounds

ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - The Allen County Fair is celebrating the completion of their new sheep and goat show arena.

After over half a million dollars in contributions from the state, local government, and Mercy Health-St. Rita's, the new, larger show arena is officially ready for this year's fair. The project is part of fair manager Troy Elwer's several-year plan to expand the fair facilities over the next several years to improve the quality of both the fair week and the events hosted at the fairgrounds throughout the year. The larger arena was built to accommodate the growing number of people showing animals.

"Our sheep and goat departments are up like anywhere from 30-40% this year in terms of numbers, and over the last couple years, that has continued to increase. I really say it's a good problem because it's a problem in the sense that we needed the new building in a bigger space, but it's good because it's promoting our mission here at the fairgrounds, which is youth and agriculture," said Troy Elwer, promotions and operations manager at the Allen County Fairgrounds.

Former Speaker of the Ohio House Bob Cupp and Ohio Senator Matt Huffman attended and were thanked for their role in securing funding in the state budget for the arena.

"In both cases of Speaker Cupp and I, we've been longtime supporters of the Allen County Fair. Certainly, the fair is the biggest draw for people to come into Allen County every year. We have a lot of other great assets, of course, but you need to make sure that these assets are maintained and continue to do what they've done for over 100 years," commented Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, (R-Lima).

The fair officially opens at 4 p.m. next Friday, August 16th.