MANASSAS — The Prince William County Fairgrounds is headed for the real estate market.
The Fairgrounds Board of Directors voted to begin the sales process, contracting with Manassas-based Weber-Rector to sell the property on Dumfries Road in Manassas, according to a letter obtained by Potomac Local.
Reached by phone, Coleman Rector at Weber-Rector would not confirm or deny his firm’s involvement in the sale. The property would be “very valuable,” he added.
Rector refused to speculate on who might purchase the property. Across the street, Stanley Martin at Bradley Square townhomes replaced the Old Dominion Speedway which relocated to Spotsylvania County.
The 55-acre parcel is valued at $5.7 million, according to Prince William County tax records.
Not only does the property play host to annual Prince William County Fair each August — the largest county fair in Virginia — but is also home to other events such as a rodeo, and a recent tiny homes show. The outdoor events space has also played host to Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, where both stumped on the campaign trail.
The largest revenue stream at the fairgrounds is RV parking rentals, for owners who chose to park their vehicles at the fairgrounds because they can’t park them outside their homes.
The fairgrounds board of directors began discussing the potential sale of the property last year. That decision appears to have created a buzz amongst potential buyers.
From the letter:
Weber-Rector informed us that they received several inquiries throughout the summer about the availability of the property and its status. We believe this speculation began to grow after we informed our Stockholders last fall of our strategic review, and because Weber-Rector needed to engage subject matter land experts to prepare for this marketing process.
That is a good thing in our view because potential demand for the property parcels by multiple parties indicates that offers may become competitive. Those firms know that it is rare that developable properties of our size with proximity to key commerce activities (airports, railways, commuter rails, road frontage and access) are available in the growing Manassas/Prince William County economic zones.
For those reasons, we have not placed an asking price on our properties. We want to see if a competitive market may generate multiple offers to review. We have reserved the right to refuse any offers that do not meet with our strategic objectives, and that do not protect your value as Stockholders.
The fair’s attendance has rebounded after slipping two years ago, and the event has turned a profit for the stockholders. But interest in animals at the show is waning, according to fair officials.
Our attendance has been relatively steady over the most recent years, including 2018, but again this year we had little interest in the few agricultural and livestock events we offered. To compensate for that condition, and to continue to draw the public, we have had to book much more expensive activities and shows, which come with increased crowd risk and requirements for law enforcement personnel.
The incremental insurance and public safety costs associated with these changes are trending higher and may become cost prohibitive at some point. Those changes have also rendered some of our buildings obsolete and under-utilized. The capital investment required to build new facilities at our complex that would meet code and safety needs to adapt to these changes are not enough to generate the returns needed for debt coverage and associated costs.
The Prince William County Fair is independent of the county or Manassas City Government and accepts zero public money.
