Commercial exhibits at Mountain State Fair will be housed in renovated, expanded Davis Arena

New name, Davis Event Center, reflects building’s wider variety of possible uses

Vendors displaying everything from jewelry to farm equipment at the 2011 Mountain State Fair will be housed in the WNC Ag Center’s renovated, expanded and renamed Davis Arena.

The building, which has been renamed the Davis Event Center, has a 20,000-square-foot addition containing meeting space, storage areas and offices. The addition brings the size of the building to 75,000 square feet. A concrete floor and air-conditioning also were added to the existing arena, and visitors will find more than 50 new restroom stalls. The project cost about $7.5 million.

“By renovating and expanding Davis, we’ve given it a lot of potential new uses,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “It is the latest in a series of improvements we’ve made to the WNC Ag Center over the past few years. In addition to enhancing the Mountain State Fair experience, these investments allow the ag center to accommodate a greater variety of events throughout the year.”

The project also added sidewalks and landscaping between Davis and the Virginia Boone and Expo buildings. The latter two buildings were completed in 2009. The road south of Davis was widened, and a retaining wall was added. A road added east of the building provides access to restrooms and the arena floor.

Chevrolet has signed on to be the building sponsor during the fair, which will take place Sept. 9-18. Davis will be known as the Chevrolet Event Center for the fair’s 10-day run.