Last week I was thrilled to be given a behind-the-scenes tour of the NYS Fairgrounds to see how the multi-million dollar renovations are progressing.  My tour guide was none other than acting Fair Director, Troy Waffner, and I can’t thank him enough! I took along my husband Joe as my official photographer.

As much as I resist change in my life on a daily basis, I have to admit I was extremely impressed with the Fair’s new look. Even though active construction was still in full force all over the grounds there were some areas that were finished or nearly finished, enough to give me a general idea of how they will look.

We were most impressed with the new Front Gate. Gone is the box office and the ugly cement booths and turnstiles. In their place is a stunning new structure that bears a strong resemblance to the front entrance of the Fair long, long ago. For the first time, all tickets will be checked in digitally eliminating all the stubs on the ground, in your pockets and eventually in your washing machine.  

Here are a few photos of the Front Gate, with the first one taken from the 2nd floor of the administration building, just to the right as you walk in.

Another major change is the fence surrounding the infield track- or lack thereof.  In fact the entire track has been replaced with two newly designed areas. One area is a field of inviting green grass, sleek black lampposts, and freshly planted landscaping, while the other is a large triangular shaped lot covered with gravel.  The grassy area is part of an updated, more uniform Midway space and will be the future home of ‘Kiddieland’. The gravel lot is the new Empire RV Park.  This RV park is located just past the Horticulture Building to the right and has a total of 315 Full-Service spaces available not only during the 12 day run of the Fair, but also year round. Click here for more information on reserving a space for the 2016 NYS Fair:

Empire RV Park Information and Reservations

The following photo was taken from the road that runs between the International Building and the Dairy Building, across the street from where the New York Lottery building used to stand.  The Villa Pizze Fritte shack was just to the left along with Santillos, Tully’s and various other vendors.  It is the busiest intersection of the Fair, known as Times Square to most people.  We always called it Grand Central Station and dreaded having to navigate the spot where four lanes of people traffic converged.  I held onto my kids’ hands extra tight through there!  The line for The Villa Pizze Fritte stand didn’t help matters so I am definitely happy to see a change at this particular location.  As part of the renovations, all vendor buildings on the road to the now defunct Grandstand have been torn down. But fear not, the Fair has been working closely with the vendors, some of them understandably leery and to my knowledge they have all been relocated.

And I know a lot of you are wondering (and panicking): Where is that awesome NYS Fair mainstay, purple triangle-shaped The Villa Pizze Fritte Building?!?!  Thankfully it was not demolished! The owner actually moved it down the road to it’s new home, next to the International Building.

This gravel lot makes up part of the Full-Service Empire RV Park:

There is a new pedestrian only entrance being added to the left/backside of the Fair, next to the Center of Progress Building off of Bridge Street.  Many people park over the bridge and have to walk all the way to the front entrance to get in.  This will get them into the Fair more quickly and reduce the amount of time they spend walking along the busy road.  Steps have been added already and the new gate is under construction.

The photo below shows the steps and accessible ramp to the new entrance – Crucible Steel is in the background:

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my Behind the Scenes Tour!