Bids for a cattle barn due this week for the new Putnam County Fairgrounds.
Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said completely building out the Tennessee Avenue facility will take several years. Porter said a covered arena for animal shows currently under study.
“We are doing a study currently with ARC (Appalachian Regional Commission) and the Department of Agriculture to see what that would bring into the community,” Porter said. “And if that study comes back good, we are hoping to get a grant that will pay for at least half of that.”
Porter said the county will also be constructing several small food booths after receiving a grant. Porter said the timetable for the fairgrounds to be fully completed is dependent on the Expo Center. That larger facility would allow the community to host major expos and events.
“We were hoping to break ground, you know, before the end of the year on it, and that would put us sometime in late 2026-2027 on that facility being finished,” Porter said. “And then that covered arena, if we get the grant on it, that would probably be a 2027 project also. Then that pretty well fills out all the plans that we had currently, when we started looking at this project.”
Porter said the county could use funds from selling the old fairgrounds to finish paying off the new fairgrounds and for future county development along Tennessee Avenue.
Porter said he is excited to see what economic impact the new fairgrounds will have once completed.