MontanaFair set new records on many fronts this year, according to MetraPark Manager Stoney Field.
Total paid gate numbers set a new record, as did concession sales commissions, carnival rides and sponsorships. The benchmark they were comparing to was 2022 and “We beat all those numbers,” said Field.
Field went on to report that they have put out a request for bids for design of the proposed outdoor arena, which is causing “a ton of excitement in the industry and will present new opportunities for next year’s fair. He said that there are already people planning roping events for it. They will soon issue a request for bids for sheets for bucking shoots and panels.
Also paving will soon begin on the ARPA Expo lot.
Michaela Woemrner, MontanaFair Coordinator, said MontanaFair was “phenomenal.” She said there were over 8000 entries for FFA and 4-H and their sale made $850,000.
Other reports lauded how smoothly everything went due largely to the hard work of the crews. They noted that they had to make room for eight new carnival rides, and new this year were additional camping facilities for fair participants and workers.
About concerts, Cody Reitz, Marketing and Sales Director for MetraPark, said they are going back to the drawing board regarding how they are spending money for night shows and “making sure they are worth it.”
Otherwise, they are lining up exciting concerts for the year, said Reitz, adding “it looks like another good fiscal year.”
Reitz commented on the recent Cody Johnson concert noting that it drew 8500 people, as compared to Rapid City where they drew about 6000 in attendance. “It was a tremendous event,” he said.
“It was one of the most engaged crowds.”
The only snafu was the fact that some 7000 of the attendees arrived all at once, just shortly before the event was to begin, all of whom had to be processed for security. Reitz said that they managed to get most of them in by the beginning of the concert.
