Miami-Dade Commission Wants The Youth Fair To Move For FIU Expansion
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Be there, the fair—but where? The Youth Fair—which has been in the same location for 43 years—could be looking for a new home.
Miami-Dade Commissioners unanimously agreed Thursday that Florida International University should be able to expand onto neighboring, county-owned land, according to CBS4's news partner the Miami Herald.
The 86-acre land, however, is leased to the Miami-Dade County Fair and Expo, which, the paper reports, the county would have to help move.
Where the fair should move to, however, remains a question.
"We're just saying, this is public land," said Commissioner Juan C. Zapata, who represents the West Miami-Dade area that includes the site is quoted as saying in the Herald. "It has a better use."
Mayor Carlos Gimenez has been directed by the commission to recommend a site for the fair by September 3.
All though a decision has yet to be made, the paper reports, Thursday's vote is a victory for FIU which lobbied for and received $10 million in state funding this year to help pay for the fair's relocation.
According to the paper, the county, the fair and the university have studied three potential sites: west of Miami Lakes; near the Homestead Air Reserve Base; and near the Miami Dolphins' Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens. A fourth, at Tropical Park, has also been mentioned.
The fair's lease, which runs through 2040 with extensions until 2085, also requires three years' notice before any move.
"We want to be a good neighbor. We want to be a good tenant," Bob Hohenstein, the fair's president and chief executive, told commissioners according to the paper. "We commit ourselves to continuing moving forward, working with FIU, and working with the county to get this situation resolved."
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