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Reporter's GalleryRICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The owner of a Tennessee-based amusement company is paying a total of $5.67 million for the State Fair of Virginia and the Caroline County site where it’s been held, including where Triple Crown winner Secretariat was born.
Mark Lovell, owner of Cordova, Tenn.-based Universal Fairs, placed the winning bid of $5.35 million at an auction Tuesday. He’s also paying an additional $321,000 for the auction house’s commission.
Lovell said at a news conference that he has already contracted for midway rides and vendors, and plans to stage the fair Sept. 28 through Oct. 7.
State Fair of Virginia Inc. acquired the Meadow Farm property in 2003 for $5.3 million and moved the annual fair from Richmond, where it had been held since 1854. The nonprofit defaulted on about $80 million in financing from a group of creditors and was forced to liquidate.
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