WISCONSIN BLUE BOOK 1997 - 1998


Fax: (414) 266-7007.
E-mail: wsfp @ wsfp.state.wi.us
Internet Address: http://www.wsfp.state.wi.us
Publications: A Brief History of the Wisconsin State Fair; WSFP Update (semi-annual);
annual
   non-fair event schedule; monthly non-fair event schedule; fair brochures,
daily events sched-
   ule, and premium books.
Number of Employes: 45.70.
Total Budget 1995-96: $13,032,000.
Total Budget 1996-97: $13,723,400.
Statutory References: Section 15.445 (4); Chapter 42.
   Agency Responsibility: The State Fair Park Board is directed to manage
the State Fair Park
and supervise its use for fairs, exhibits or promotional events for agricultural,
commercial,
educational and recreational purposes; to lease or license the property's
use for other purposes
when not needed for public purposes; and to charge reasonable rents and fees
for use of the prem-
ises. The board is also directed to develop new facilities at State Fair
Park and to provide a perma-
nent location for an annual Wisconsin State Fair, major sports events, agricultural
and industrial
expositions and other programs of civic interest.
   Organization: The State Fair Park Board consists of 7 members, 2 ex officio
and 5 appointed
for staggered 5-year terms. The park director is appointed by the board from
outside the classi-
fied service. All other full-time and seasonal employes are hired from within
the classified ser-
vice.
  History: Beginning with the first Wisconsin State Fair at Janesville in
October 1851, the event
has served as a showcase for Wisconsin agriculture and commerce. It has been
operationally
self-financing since 1935. The State Agricultural Society, which sponsored
the first fair, contin-
ued to operate it through 1897. In that year, Chapter 301 created the Wisconsin
State Board of
Agriculture and placed operation of the fair under its control. When the
Department of Agricul-
ture was created in 1915, the state fair became part of the new department.
  In Chapter 149, Laws of 1961, the independent Wisconsin Exposition Department,
headed by
a 7-member board, was created to manage the fair and the park's year-round
operation. Under
the 1967 executive branch reorganization, the exposition department became
the Wisconsin Ex-
position Council in the Department of Local Affairs and Development.
  Chapter 125, Laws of 1971, created a 3-member State Fair Park Board, appointed
by the gover-
nor and attached to the Department of Agriculture for administrative purposes.
The 1985 Legis-
lature increased board membership to 5, specified 5-year terms of service
and required senate
confirmation of the governor's nominees (Chapter 20).
  In 1990, as provided by 1989 Wisconsin Act 219, the State Fair Park Board
became an indepen-
dent body. 1995 Wisconsin Act 27 attached the board to the Department of
Tourism, beginning
January 1, 1996.
  Over the years, the location of the state fair was debated and even its
continued existence was
in doubt. At various times between 1851 and 1885, Fond du Lac, Janesville,
Madison, Milwau-
kee and Watertown hosted the fair. Milwaukee was chosen as the state fair
site from 1886 through
1891, and the fairs held there were so successful that a permanent site was
purchased in what is
now West Allis, a Milwaukee suburb. That site, first used for the 1892 fair,
is included in the state
fair's location today.
  Several studies published during the 1960s recommended that the fair be
moved to a larger site
in the Milwaukee area. Chapter 125, Laws of 1971, decided the fair would
remain at its site (par-
tially in West Allis, partially in Milwaukee), with updated or new facilities
being funded through
self-amortizing state bonds. Since then, the State Fair Park Board has spent
more than $15 mil-
lion for remodeling and new construction. Individuals, organizations and
corporations have
spent an additional $5 million to build permanent concessions and other improvements
to the
grounds.
  The Pettit National Ice Center at the north end of the grounds, opened
on January 1, 1993, is
the only enclosed Olympic-sized skating oval in the country and one of only
6 in the world. Its


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