The Pahrump Fairgrounds have been a longstanding goal in the valley and after gaining some momentum in the recent years, town and county officials have been working toward creating what will one day be a recreation destination for all sorts of activities by keeping the project moving steadily forward.
The town and county have been active in seeking outside funding to support the fairgrounds, helping defray the development costs by several hundreds of thousands of dollars already through the use of grants, from U.S. Housing and Urban Development Economic Development Incentive grants and Community Development Block Grant funding from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development.
The most recent round of funding coming in the form of Community Development Block Grants, was awarded to the town of Pahrump this month. That money will be put to use with an environmental assessment and in planning and constructing a new water and well system for the fairgrounds.
The grant funding totals $550,000 for the two projects. The water and well system is slated to utilize $500,000 with a $12,737 match required, which will be funded by the town’s fairgrounds room tax dollars. The remaining $50,000 is for the environmental assessment of the entire 427-acre property, with a $4,722 match that will also be funded by fairgrounds room tax monies. The environmental assessment is slated to be conducted starting September 28 and concluding March 31, 2021 while the water and well system is scheduled to wrap up in September of next year.
“This is a great project, I am very excited to be moving forward with it. I’m sure the board is elated as well! Long overdue. Hoorah! Let’s get the fairgrounds developed,” Nye County Commissioner Leo Blundo said as the item came up for discussion during the commission’s July 7 meeting.
Commissioner Debra Strickland chimed in, “This is moving! Drainage study, now water. Good job staff, thank you,” and commission chairman John Koenig added, “I like it! It’s great.”
The Pahrump Fairgrounds are comprised of 427 acres of land obtained from the Bureau of Land Management by the town of Pahrump in 1999. The property sat unused for many years before any real development occurred but once things began to happen, the project has continued to see progress.
According to documents available on the town of Pahrump’s website, phase 1 of the fairgrounds project consisted of the construction of an access road along with a parking lot and eight fenced-in multipurpose fields. Phase 2 included installation of the first groundwater well and associated infrastructure to support water supply needs. Phase 3 included the drainage study and flood control design that precedes the construction of drainage changes and the detention basin. An initial environmental site assessment was also performed, concluding in October of last year, as well as a biological evaluation completed in January and a cultural resources study that wrapped up in April.
The Pahrump Fairgrounds will incorporate several recreational elements, such as the existing multipurpose fields, which will eventually be opened to sports activities, and rodeo grounds to support a new arena, along with a hoped-for 15,000-square-foot community development center. However, that is just the beginning for the 400-plus acre site, which could include items such as stadium tracks, commercial properties and an off-road park in future buildout phases.
For more information on the fairgrounds visit www.pahrumpnv.org
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com