JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As the Jacksonville Fair prepares to wrap up at its long-established downtown venue, plans are underway for its future relocation to the Westside. The Greater Jacksonville Fair Association is investing efforts into both locations, ensuring a smooth transition for this beloved annual event to its new home, anticipated to be ready in 2026.

During this year’s fair, association President Bill Olson made visits to the Westside site to give ride owners a glimpse of the future midway. This visit allows them to strategize and plan the layout of the rides for the 2026 fair.

The upcoming fairgrounds, positioned near the Jacksonville Equestrian Center, have several projects in the pipeline, expected to conclude by summer 2026. While much of the site remains undeveloped, the forthcoming installation of sidewalks and parking areas will soon bring the space to life.

Much of the wide-open site still is dirt but it will have more definition when construction of sidewalks and parking lots occurs.

“It’s getting easier to visualize it as more and more work gets done,” Olson said.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan and his Iguana Investments bought the downtown property from the fair association and then leased it back to the association so it could stage the annual fair this year while construction of the new fairgrounds advances.

The non-profit fair association and the city are teaming up to build the fairgrounds that will have an expo hall, amphitheater, expanded parking with thousands of spaces, cattle barn and midway.

The city has identified nearly $49 million for relocating the fairgrounds and another $9 million for construction of a cattle barn at the new site, according to the city’s capital improvements program. The fair association is putting up about $20 million.

“I think the new site is going to be impressive for folks that have been coming to the fair for years,” Olson said. “It’s going to be different in a good way.”

Olson said the construction of the expo hall is on track to finish in time for the fair association to relocate its offices to by the end of January. The association will open the doors for concertgoers when The Summer Set band plays Feb. 6 in the Duval Hall part of the building.

While Olson has been keeping tabs on the ongoing construction, the main event every year for the association is the fair itself.

This year’s edition of the fair started Nov. 6 with a kickoff performance by a marching band and goes through Nov. 16. Olson said he’s hoping the has a strong finish at the site where it started in 1955.

Any outdoor event like the fair can be at the mercy of the weather, but the weekend is shaping up to have sunny skies, no rain and comfortable temperatures at day and night.

“This is the perfect weather right now,” Olson said. “We’re good.”

The fair is open 5-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday and noon-10 p.m. Sunday. Information about the More information is available at jacksonvillefair.com.

Editor’s note: This story was first published by our news partners, The Florida Times-Union.