AMARILLO, TEXAS -- A $500,000 project is replacing the more-than-40-year-old concession stands at the Tri-State Fairgrounds.
"As you can see, they're in pretty bad shape and they're sitting right here beside the Amarillo National Center, which is a really nice building here on our fairgrounds and we just felt like we needed to get those down," Tri-State Fairgrounds General Manager Virgil Bartlett said.
Visual appeal is not the only motive behind the construction.
"They play a really bad role from the standpoint of drainage here on our fairgrounds," Bartlett said. "They were built a long time ago, as you know. We came in in 2000 and built the new coliseum here and it's very difficult for us to get water through it and back out to the gates where they go out on 10th Street."
The concession stands' replacement- a 60 by 400 foot awning with picnic tables and concession stands underneath. According to Bartlett, this plan has been in place for years.
"We do a very, very good noon run on our concessions out here," he said. "This will be a place where they can get out of the sun and make their meal more pleasant."
