State Fair’s first day includes opening of new Exposition Center

GEDDES, N.Y. — Wednesday’s opening of the New York State Fair in Geddes also marked the opening of the new Exposition Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The 136,000-square-foot Expo Center is the “largest indoor events space north of New York City between Boston and Cleveland,” the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release.

“The new Exposition Center is a welcome addition to the Fairgrounds that will not only help bolster State Fair attendance, but provide an event space capable of hosting a record number of visitors year-round,” Cuomo stated. “By boosting tourism and attracting businesses from across the country, the uniquely situated Expo Center will deliver lasting economic benefits to keep Central New York rising for generations to come.”

The Expo Center, with 110,000 square feet of clear-span floor space, has the capacity to hold more than 500, 10-feet-by-10-feet trade-show booths.

The venue, which also features 4,000 retractable seats, “will attract major shows and special events,” including car, boat, and recreational vehicle (RV) shows; pet expos; consumer and trade shows; home and garden shows; and tech expos — “many of which were previously unable to come to upstate New York due to the lack of suitable space,” the governor’s office contends.

The Expo Center increases the amount of available indoor space on the Fairgrounds to more than 450,000 square feet.

Cuomo used the opening of last year’s State Fair to announce that the New York State Office of General Services would issue a request-for-proposals for the Expo Center design-build project.

As a result of special legislation for design-build granted in Cuomo’s 2017-2018 budget, the project was designed, constructed, and completed “in less than one year,” his office noted.

The firms involved included HBP Joint Venture, a joint venture between Hueber-Breuer Construction Co. Inc. of Syracuse and the Pike Company of Rochester; QPK Design of Syracuse was the architect and engineer on the project. Gilbane Building Company and Salina–based C&S Companies served as owner’s representatives, Cuomo’s office said.

The new facility — and the recently completed renovation of the Fair’s orange parking lot — complete the second phase of Cuomo’s plan to “revitalize” the State Fairgrounds, his office said. The improvements complement Central NY Rising, the region’s economic-development blueprint.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com