Fairground Board to determine livestock show size

Planning is underway for a space to allow kids to showcase their livestock animals locally.

The Buchanan County Fairgrounds Board met on Thursday, Feb. 20 to decide on potential dimensions for an arena that will be located at a property near East Buchanan Middle School.

Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner Scott Nelson said the board’s primary mission is to have a place for kids involved in 4-H and the National FFA Organization to participate in livestock shows.

“People around here are begging for places to go because there just aren't event centers that they can practice, show and things like that,” he said. “They have to travel. They have to go to Carthage or Joplin.”

Nelson sits on the board as a representative of the Buchanan County Commissioners. He explained that the plan is to build a 160-foot-wide arena under a roof, however the facility will not be fully enclosed.

“We wanted to make sure that we got the width and what this building could look like in the future,” Nelson said. “Everything is based on a budget, but we want to at least get the width right and then determine what sort of length we can based on whatever budget it is.”

The board discussed a potential length of 250 feet for the arena, though members will continue to determine the cost of the project and how much money they can afford to put into it.

“What we want to be able to do is provide an arena, a space that high school and below can participate in,” Nelson said. “So the upper limit of that would be a high school rodeo.”

Board members will also decide on amenities like wash racks and electrical hookups, along with a specific location to build the arena on the 10 acres of property where East Buchanan Middle School sits.

Nelson would like to begin work during the summer after the school year finishes.

"If we want to provide for the kids, what do we need in order to do that?” Nelson questioned. “and that’s what came out of that meeting on what we need. Now it’s up to the Fairground Board to gather all that information.”