Colorado Politics

Audit: Poor management causes Colorado State Fair money loss

The Colorado State Fair has lost money for 21 straight years and a state audit of the operation says it has not been managed strategically.

Colorado Public Radio reports the Colorado State Auditor’s Office found the fair’s deficits have averaged $4 million each year from 2014 to 2018.

The audit reports the Colorado State Fair Authority does not have a defined vision for its future, even though the organization paid $166,000 to a strategy consultant in 2017.

The audit says the authority has no comprehensive marketing plan and no target audience despite spending $1.1 million per year on marketing.

Fair leaders agreed to most of the audit’s recommendations.

Fair manager Scott Stoller was hired in 2018 and says it is ready to start a “long, heavy process” of improvement.

Dirk Draper, with the Pikes Peak Posse, talks with children about their animals during the Junior Livestock Auction at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo on Tuesday, August 27, 2019.
(File photo by Chancey Bush, The Gazette)
Tags

PREV

PREVIOUS

El Paso County leads Colorado in early election returns

El Paso County voters are leading the state in returned ballots for the Nov. 5 election, Clerk and Recorder Chuck Broerman said. Of the approximately 410,000 ballots mailed to voters across the county, about 109,000 of them have been returned, Broerman said. Monday and Tuesday are expected to carry the largest influx of ballots, so […]

NEXT

NEXT UP

ELECTION 2019: 1 interesting fact from each of Colorado's most notable races

It’s a baby election, they say. Off-year elections have no drama. Not so this year. In a vote that could take the teeth out of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, Proposition CC would allow the state to keep future tax refunds to support K-12 schools, higher education and transportation. Because of the mercurial nature of […]


Welcome Back.

Streak: 9 days i

Stories you've missed since your last login:

Stories you've saved for later:

Recommended stories based on your interests:

Edit my interests