Several State Fairs Going Private - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.

Several State Fairs Going Private - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.: Until recently, governmental agencies and nonprofits ran state fairs, but they’ve had a difficult time making a go of it. In Virginia, recently, the nonprofit State Fair of Virginia, Inc. defaulted on more than $70 million in loans, leading to the auction sale of the nonprofit and the park grounds where it operated outside of Fredericksburg to a for-profit, Universal Fairs, LLC.

Including Virginia’s, Universal runs five state fairs—Georgia’s, Tennessee’s, Mississippi’s, and Washington’s. The company’s owner, Mark Lovell, saw a bargain in being able to pick up the Virginia asset for less than $6 million and jumped at the opportunity.