Minnesota State Fair will hold ticket prices steady at $18 this year

Minnesota State Fair entry tickets will cost the same in 2024 — $18 for most, the fair's board decided Sunday in yet another sign the annual event has overcome the fiscal strain of shutting down in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Fair CEO Renee Alexander said that while the fair budget faces pressures from increased expenses, "We went into the budgeting process with a priority to keep ticket prices the same."

The board of the State Agricultural Society, which oversees the fair, made the decision at the society's annual gathering at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bloomington. The event was the first as CEO for Alexander, who took over in May.

Tickets are the fair's main source of revenue, and prices often increase year to year. The last time they held steady was in 2017 and 2018 when tickets cost $14 at the gate. A year ago, the board increased admission prices from 2022 by $1 across all categories except toddlers and babies.

This summer, ages 13-64 will again pay $18. Children ages 5-12 and seniors ages 65 or older will again pay $16. Kids ages 4 or younger will still be admitted free. Discounted tickets are already available for $15 online at the fair's website.

The board also agreed to invest $10 million in upgrades at the fairgrounds. Among them: about $1 million for new windows and doors on the Fine Arts building, a new ticket booth and elevator at the grandstand and more trees.

Alexander is not yet a year into her new job. She succeeded Jerry Hammer, who was in charge for 27 years and steered the fair through the COVID-19 pandemic without a single staff layoff. He was inducted Sunday into the fair's Hall of Fame.

The State Fair was not held in 2020 for the first time since World War II. It returned in 2021, but attendance fell because COVID-19 remained a threat. The true rebound came in the past two years.

Attendance in 2023 was 1,835,826, the sixth-highest in fair history. However, that was down about 6,000 from 2022, a dip attributed to the oppressive heat in the final days of the event. The attendance record — 2,126,551 — was set in 2019.

Before Sunday's board session, Alexander addressed several hundred people at a breakfast for the Minnesota Federation of County Fairs.

She briefly described her background, showing a photo of herself as a toddler sitting on tractor in Pittsburg, Kan., where she was raised until the family moved to Coon Rapids. She concluded with a photo of her 12-year-old rescue yellow Labrador, Baxter.

As a longtime fair employee and Hammer's former aide, Alexander said of her hiring: "The message that's being sent is that the institution is in the right place."

Before taking the top job, she had worked at the organization for almost two decades, much of it booking the music acts in venues from the free stages to the grandstand. "To see a sold-out audience at the grandstand still makes me excited," she said as an image of a concert was shown behind her.

She said she attended "Jerry University" for 18 years, a reference to working with Hammer who, among other things, is credited with upgrading and enhancing the Falcon Heights fairgrounds and buildings, planting trees and keeping the historic structures fresh and safe.

Alexander said the fair has three pillars of success — people, place and community — and spoke of exposing an urban audience to agricultural and working with the community surrounding the Falcon Heights fairgrounds.

"We want to be a good neighbor, not just the big neighbor," she said. "We know we make a big impact on the communities during the fair."

Alexander also showed an image of Hmong dancers performing in traditional attire at the fair and said she hoped to add more, similar “cultural days” to the end-of-summer event.