STUART, Fla. — After years of delays, there's a new push to relocate the Martin County Fair onto a much larger space. The move could come down to funding.
For more than 60 years, the fair has been held at an 11-acre site located off Dixie Highway in Stuart.
Martin County commissioners approved a 50-year lease in 2019 that would allow the fair to move to Indiantown.
The plan is to move the fair to an 80-acre property called the Treasure Coast Agriplex adjacent to the new Indiantown High School.
The vision is that it would have space not just for the fair but for equestrian events, an RV park and an amphitheater.
"We haven't been able to have horses at our county fair because there's not enough room at the current location to house the equestrian community," Martin County Fair Executive Director Kasey Ingram Mullen said.
She said the new location will allow them to be more things to more people.
"When you talk about diverse interests in the community, those are the diverse interests — an exhibition hall so you can have sports events, proms, business events, conventions," Ingram Mullen said. "You'll be able to cater to everyone in the community which is what the fairgrounds is about."
So far, the main roadblock has been fundraising.
County commissioners gave the fair until September 2024 to raise $3.5 million needed to lease the county-owned land.
"I'm still 100% in support of the fair," Martin County Commissioner Ed Ciampi said. "I think it's a remarkable asset for our county, especially on the agricultural side."
WPTV asked parents with young children at Kiwanis Park in downtown Stuart whether they would still go to the fair once it moves west.
"I personally think why would you drive further when you're used to it being a little bit closer," Kara Absher of Stuart said.
Ingram Mullen said that the issue is dictated by the existing economic realities.
"Our lease is up in 2026 at the current location, and we have outgrown it," Ingram Mullen said. "The world has grown around us, and we're constrained with just 11 acres. We need to move."
While the goal is to get the fair moved by 2025, the fair president said it's likely it will stay in Stuart through 2026 when its current lease expires.