In Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2017 budget, he’s proposing $70 million in more upgrades at the New York State Fairgrounds.
According to the budget, some of that money will be spent on a gondola that transports people from the Fairgrounds to Onondaga County’s Lakeview Amphitheater.
Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball spoke to NewsChannel 9 on Wednesday and said it was one of the ideas that came from the State Fair Task Force that he co-chaired with Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney.
Nobody was able to say what the gondola will look like, how it will work, or how it can be built over Interstate 690. There were also no details about the Governor’s proposed parking improvements and a new on-ramp to I-690.
We’re told Governor Cuomo will come to Central New York in the coming weeks to share more details himself.
The $70 million will also help improve the parking areas around the Fairgrounds and go toward a multi-use, hybrid event space.
This investment adds to the $50 million in the 2016 budget that went to the new Empire RV park, expanding the Midway, improving Chevy Court, and remodeling the main fairground gate.
The New York State Fair had record attendance in 2016, with 1.1 million people attending.
