At Lincoln South Rotary Club on June 9, 2023 we heard from Amy Dickerson of the Lancaster Event Center about all upcoming events including the Lancaster County Super Fair.
The Lancaster Event Center (Center) was originally built to provide a permanent home for the Lancaster County Fair and other community events. It is not a convention center - it is a fairground. Whereas convention centers include carpet and chandeliers, you will find dirt "floors" and bare walls.
First opened in 2001, Amy was hired as part of the process to relaunch in 2014. They knew that they would not be a convention center, but they wanted to compete with other fairground type facilities. Now they find themselves competing with Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa to name some states.The Center has grown from 200 annual events to be nationally recognized with over 320 events per year. In fact, their calendar is full. When they can, they schedule smaller compatible events during the same days.
The Lancaster Super Fair is hosted at the Center. It is currently the biggest fairground in the state and was attended by 130,000 last year - about 1/3 of the state fair attendance.
She shared photos and statistics about the Rodeo in 2021.It was the largest rodeo on the planet and brought $18M in out-of-state visitor spending. It was the National High School Finals Rodeo and draws competitors from all over the world. Amy explained that the kids don't come alone - they never know if they will make it to the finals again. So, their parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles may come along. The families average 3.5 to 4 per competitor. The average stay is 5.5 days of lodging and eating. And, it is returning in 2026.
Their staff is able to take down the bleachers and barricades used during events with animals, make the dirt smooth, cover with carpet, and hold indoor trade shows. They had a farm expo where equipment dealers from Nebraska and Iowa would bring "big iron" to put on display.
That event has grown and changed. It has 9.2 acres of exhibit space and held the 2nd largest indoor farm show in Nebraska. In 2022 there were 817 exhibitors - including 88 new exhibitors that year. The exhibitors brought a total of 1700 individual agriculture experts from 26 different states and 6 Canadian provinces. There was an innovation hub added which included 51 vendors displaying technology solutions.
They have plans for the future that will include space for ag displays year round. That way schools can bring kids to experience the ag industry at any time. By introducing kids they may see how they can be part of the ag industry even if they do not live on a farm. However, for now, they are working on renovating and upgrading which the estimate will take $30m to get everything fully up to speed.
Amy invited us to volunteer for the Lancaster Super Fair August 3 through 12, 2023. There are many opportunities inside and out so you can select the type of activity that fits you. Click here for the volunteer page on their website.
BIO
Amy will be giving an update on what’s new as the non-profit Lancaster Event Center (LEC) Fairgrounds including at this year’s Super Fair August 3-12, preparations & improvements planned before LEC’s 25th anniversary in 2026 when the National High School Finals Rodeo returns for a 2-year stint.
Amy is a proud “bounce backer” to Lincoln after growing up in York, getting her UNL business degree and working 22 years in national consumer marketing for Black and Decker & Hewlett Packard on both coasts before doing a two-year Peace Corps volunteer stint as a Business Consultant/Educator at Far Eastern University in Khabarovsk, Russia before going back for her MBA degree at the University of California.
Amy is proud of her multi-talented, hard-working team at LEC that help “let the good times grow” with just 20 full-time and hundreds of part-time, interns and volunteer team members from all walks of life including diversion from local justice system. The Lancaster County Ag Society that owns & manages the LEC fairgrounds is proud to provide a year-round home for 800 4-H/FFA youth engaged in dozens of events, an estimated 80,000 youth from the entire community including youth sports practices and STEM events and the over up to 600,000 visitors that LEC with 2/3s at its largest events coming from outside the county.
When not busy at LEC, you’ll find Amy volunteering with the Lancaster County Visitors Promotion Committee and Downtown Rotary Club. Amy and her husband Walter have three adult children and enjoy traveling to Galapagos Islands, Ecuador to visit Walter’s family including their oldest son and only grandson.