COEUR d’ALENE — Fourteen-year-old Avery Deeds has been involved in 4-H since he was 8 years old.

For Avery, the Kootenai County Fairgrounds are more than a parcel of land.

“These fairgrounds are part of the community’s identity,” he told Commissioner Bruce Mattare during Wednesday night’s Fairgrounds Impact Town Hall. “Let’s protect the heart of the fair, right where it belongs.”

Mattare said that despite rumors, there have been no talks or plans in place at the county level to sell the 81 acres that the fairgrounds have called home for over 50 years.

“I can assure you that you don’t need to worry about that for the foreseeable future,” Mattare told Avery.

Even so, the popularity of the Fairgrounds as a year-round event venue has presented a challenge: The current buildings are not large enough to meet demand, explained North Idaho Fair Board chair Gerry Johnson.

“We don’t have the room to be doing what we could be doing,” Johnson said.

North Idaho State Fair General Manager Alexcia Jordan concurred, saying there are currently no large-scale event spaces in Coeur d’Alene.

“(We turn away) weekly, at least five events,” Jordan said. She added that such events are often instead held in Spokane.

To address this need, Johnson said the fair board is working with a consulting group on a master plan that includes a new building to be constructed near the Jacklin Building.

“Hopefully by this coming winter, we’ll have some drawings and can get started,” Johnson said.

Such a project would be self-funded, as the fairgrounds are paid for through revenue generated by year-round events in addition to the North Idaho State Fair.

“It’s done an absolutely remarkable job in paying for itself, so it doesn’t draw from the taxpayers,” Mattare said.

Last year, the fairgrounds brought in $4.73 million — about $3 million of which came from the NISF, according to Mattare.

“If we can get to over $5 million, which will probably happen, we’ll be in the top 3% (of fairs) in the country,” Mattare said.