Forget Arenas: Church Buys Fairgrounds

A Jonesboro, Ark.,church has jumped on the chance to buy bankrupt fairgrounds in the state. Rev. Stan Ballard of Nettleton Baptist Church told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette his church agreed to purchase the 77-acre fairgrounds with “plans to convert the 113,000-square-foot exhibition building into a chapel,” and “hopes to lease the fairgrounds land to the fair association so it can continue hosting the yearly fair there,” which has about 60,000 attendees.

The Craighead County Fair Association reportedly filed for bankruptcy protection, owing more than $9 million. The land was appraised for $13.3 million in 2013 but dropped to $8.5 million after the filing. The amount the church is spending on the land is undisclosed but the deal is expected to go through in mid-April according to the Democrat-Gazette.