Development Left No Land For Parking

Organizers of the St. Louis County Fair & Airshow have announced the permanent cancellation of the popular Labor Day show. Citing recent business development around the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, MO, Fair President Emeritus Dick Hrabko indicated the Fair board of directors made the difficult call to shut down the show.

"This was not an easy decision. It basically came down to the fact that the Fair is losing parking space to the new business development," said Hrabko. "To attempt to put on a world-class airshow under these conditions would not be fair to the public."

Hrabko is also the Airport Director for Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

During last year’s fair, the non-profit board borrowed land from surrounding property owners to accommodate parking, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Some of that land is now the site of construction work, according to John Bales, Spirit of St. Louis Airport Director. "Parking is the real issue."

The late George "Buzz" Westfall, then a county executive, launched the first fair and airshow in 1992. Westfall questioned why the state’s largest county did not have a county fair of its own. The air show, he added, provided a way to highlight the region’s rich aviation history.

The Wright Brothers toured their aircraft through the area in 1908, and Theodore Roosevelt became the first president to fly during their visit.

Although Charles Lindbergh’s famous Ryan airplane was built in San Diego, it was named the Spirit of St. Louis because his financial backers lived in that city. Lindbergh’s flight from New York to Paris in May 1927 earned the $25,000 Orteig Prize for the first nonstop trans-Atlantic flight.

The non-profit fair and airshow drew hundreds of thousands of people to the Chesterfield Valley. During its 16-year history, it raised over $2 million for the Children’s Miracle Network of Greater St. Louis.

This year, the fair also donated $100,000 to Wings of Hope for its medical relief and transportation needs.

FMI: www.stlcofair.org