Nearly $10 million planned in upgrades to Minnesota State Fair, including metal detectors

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(FOX 9) - The Minnesota State Fairgrounds will get nearly $10 million in upgrades prior to the 2020 Great Minnesota Get-Together, the fair announced Sunday.

According to a press release, some of the changes include a year-round ticket office, improvements to buildings in the livestock complex, and rented metal detectors at the entrance gates.

The State Fair is adding rented metal detectors to its entrances

Security is being beefed up at the Great Minnesota Get Together.

“We’ve looked at adding metal detectors to our public safety program for a while now,” State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer said in the release. “We added bag checks in 2016, and this is the next step in maintaining a safe and secure environment.”

Last year, a man was shot outside the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on the final day of the fair.

"Our public safety budget in the last three years has doubled," said Hammer. "It's gone from a little more than $1.5 million this year to about $3.2 million."

About 20 percent of that budget will go towards renting the metal detector equipment and hiring people to run them.

The fair’s board of managers also approved admission prices for the 2020 fair, Aug. 27 through Labor Day, Sept. 7, which will remain unchanged from 2019. Regular gate admission for adults 13-64 is $15; kids 5-12 and seniors 65+ are admitted for $13; children 4 and under are always admitted free. Pre-fair discount admission tickets on sale through 9 p.m. Aug. 26 for all ages are $12.

All projects will be funded through State Fair operating revenue and grants from the Minnesota State Fair Foundation.

The State Fair’s board of managers approved a record $5.1 million in maintenance projects and another $4.5 million in capital work for 2020 during the annual meeting of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society, governing body of the State Fair. The Society’s meetings were held Jan. 17-19 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bloomington as part of the annual joint conventions of the Society, Minnesota Federation of County Fairs and Midwest Showmen’s Association.

For more information on the Minnesota State Fair, click here.