The Monroe County Fairgrounds in

Monroe County, Michigan Monroe County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 154,809. The largest city and county seat is Monroe, Michigan, Monroe. The county was establi ...

includes a number of buildings.

History

The Monroe County Agricultural Society organized its first fair in 1849, but it wasn’t until 1948 that it was moved to this permanent location. All of the 120 acres of property is owned by the county and leased to the fair association on a 99-year agreement. In

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

, a one half mile dirt oval on the premises hosted its only

NASCAR Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (the top NASCAR series, known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 and 1970, then the NASCAR ...

(now NASCAR Cup) event. The race was won by racing pioneer

Tim Flock Julius Timothy Flock (May 11, 1924 – March 31, 1998) was an American stock car racer. He was a two-time NASCAR series champion. His brothers Bob and Fonty Flock also raced in NASCAR, as did his sister Ethel Mobley, NASCAR's second female d ...

, who went on to win that year’s series championship.

Facilities

Stock Arena

Glenn F. Stock Arena is a 2,000-seat indoor arena located in

Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city in Monroe County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 20,462 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered autonomously. M ...

. It is used for sporting events,

concerts A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

, conventions, and

trade shows A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and c ...

. It is part of the Monroe County

Fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

grounds. Stock Arena is also used for

graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

ceremonies of Monroe County's high schools. The arena measures wide by long with a -high ceiling. Although the Monroe County Fair's website hails the arena one of the "largest arenas in Michigan,"Fairground Facilities and Map at monroecountyfair.com
/ref> this is actually not true as far as

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

is concerned; in fact, Stock Arena seats up to 3,500 for concerts. Many indoor arenas in Michigan have larger seating capacities. Also, several of them, including

Little Caesars Arena Little Caesars Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Midtown Detroit. Opening on September 5, 2017, the arena, which cost $862.9 million to construct, replaced Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of t ...

, Breslin Center, and

Van Andel Arena Van Andel Arena is a multi-purpose arena situated in the Heartside district of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. The arena attracted over five million patrons in its first 5 years, 1996–2001. It serves as the home of the Grand Rapids Gri ...

have higher ceiling heights. Stock Arena is, however, Monroe County's largest arena and the largest in

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

's northern suburbs. Other amenities include a -by-210-foot pipe fence separating the stands from the arena floor, and a

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...

PA system that can be used inside and outside the building.

Other fairground facilities

Other facilities at the Monroe County Fairgrounds include: *The First Merchants Bank Expo Center, a

convention center A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...

with of exhibit space *Two buildings and a livestock show arena with each of space *The Far West Building *The 2,400 4H Craft Building *Two horse rings and 270 horse stalls *A 9,000-seat grandstand used for

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

and

rodeos Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

. *Parking for 4,000 cars.

References

External links

Monroe County Fair
{{NASCAR Cup Series racetracks Fairgrounds in the United States Convention centers in Michigan Indoor arenas in Michigan Sports venues in Michigan Buildings and structures in Monroe County, Michigan Tourist attractions in Monroe County, Michigan NASCAR tracks Defunct motorsport venues in the United States