State Fair organizers announced further updates to the Illinois State Fairgrounds improvement project at the Springfield Citizens Club, detailing restoration efforts of historic buildings, greater disability accommodations, sensory stations and 16 selfie kiosks.
The Illinois State Fair, scheduled for Aug. 7-17 this year, has been undergoing various grounds and facilities updates between events since before 2020. The multiyear infrastructure project, supported by a recent $85 million injection by the Pritzker administration, is focusing efforts on structural improvements to historic buildings, road paving, accessibility options and beautification, according to fair manager Rebecca Clark.
“If you drive out on the fairgrounds right now, you’re going to see a work crew on nearly every corner,” Clark told the audience during the Feb. 28 gathering of the Citizens Club of Springfield. “These continual improvements are necessary to ensure that our state fairgrounds are a destination for tourists and events, and what’s great is that all of this has been done with the facilities’ historic architecture in mind. We’re not losing any of that historic preservation.”
With many older buildings in need of repairs and facelifts, there is an effort to keep true to the original vision of the fairgrounds for visitors to enjoy. To do this, nearly $14 million alone in funding has been allocated to a tuck-pointing initiative on buildings across the campus. Professionals trained in historical restoration meticulously work to return the brick buildings to their former beauty and allow them to better stand up to the elements.
Keeping repairs historically accurate is important, but these renovations are an effort to enhance the visual appeal of the fairgrounds through beautification, according to Clark. Officials are also investing in making the buildings more comfortable, with $12 million in heating, air conditioning and ventilation improvements.
“This project is huge for us,” said State Fair facility manager Mark Clayton. “It includes eight different buildings around the fairgrounds that are getting either new or upgraded HVAC systems.”
Clayton said the HVAC improvements are coming to the Emmerson building, the Orr Building, the Junior Livestock Building, the Livestock Center, the Hobby, Arts and Crafts Building, the campground shower house and others.
With State Fair attendance numbers breaking records for the past three consecutive years, giving visitors a memorable and relaxed experience is paramount in order to continue bringing in visitors from all over the world, especially ahead of the 100-year celebration of Route 66 in 2026, Clark said.
To attract more of the social media generation to the fair, officials plan to install 16 “selfie stations” inside the Exposition Building, offering people the chance to take a picture, add it to a pool of other fairgoers’ images and share it on their favorite app.
“We talked about wanting to build that [social media] experience and infuse new programming into the fair,” Clark said. “We know we’re competing with people’s cellphones, so we figured why can’t we take advantage of that?”
Organizers are also pushing efforts to better accommodate visitors with disabilities, sensory processing disorders and dietary restrictions.
An improvement that many people will appreciate, especially those with mobility issues, is the $14 million road surfacing project, which has replaced multiple oil and chip roads within the area with proper asphalt. This will make it easier for people to get in and out of the fairgrounds, if they have strollers, wheelchairs or carts, while they enjoy the festivities.
During an earlier phase of the project in 2023, fair organizers launched the sensory-friendly fair initiative. This opened a sensory station with trained individuals to help visitors with processing disorders or PTSD deal with the large crowds and be able to enjoy the fair.
“Part of that [sensory-friendly initiative] includes Sunflower Hours, which occur on the first Saturday of the fair from 9 to noon,” said Clark. “That’s the time when the State Fair makes adjustments to their programming to create a softer, more calming environment for adults and children who might need it.”
Clark and other fair organizers also recognize the need to make the fair more inclusive for visitors who may be gluten-intolerant or vegetarian.
“Starting last year, we wanted to recruit new food vendors who offer a wider variety of options for people who might have food sensitivity,” Clark said. “So that’s going to focus this year trying to make the State Fair more inclusive. You’ll hear that word a lot, but we want to make sure we create experiences that everybody can benefit from.”
Logan Bricker is a master’s degree student in the UIS Public Affairs Reporting program working this semester as an intern for Illinois Times.
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