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Illinois State Fair Coliseum closes temporarily for repairs

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois Department of Agriculture officials said they're temporarily closing the Coliseum at the state fairgrounds after engineers discovered structural deficiencies indoors.

The building will stay closed until repairs can be made, The State Journal-Register (http://bit.ly/2dOnUKC ) reported.

Agriculture Director Raymond Poe said in a statement that the decision was made to protect visitors and livestock who use the Coliseum. He said the building's problems highlight years of neglect by previous administrations.

"The band-aid approach to repairs on our state fairgrounds cannot continue, and underscores why I fought for many years for a Fairgrounds Foundation as an innovative way to invest in our fairgrounds. The fairgrounds infrastructure needs significant investment to protect our fairgoers, exhibitors, visitors and employees," said Poe in the statement.

Department officials say it has been more than 10 years since it received a capital budget to fund fairgrounds repairs.

"Infrastructure investments are critical to the state fairgrounds and its future success," CDB executive director Jodi Golden said in the release. "Our hope is that through the work of the State Fair Foundation some of the deferred maintenance issues which have been mounting for dozens of years will be addressed."

Gov. Bruce Rauner in August put together a foundation to tap outside contributors for badly needed repairs to the state's fairgrounds.

According to Rebecca Clark, communications manager for the Department of Agriculture, officials are waiting on the final engineering report from the CDB to determine the extent of the damage to the Coliseum and an estimated timeline for closure.

The Coliseum, which was built in 1901, is a three-story building with 60,000 square feet and 2,688 seats. It is home to horse shows and livestock events throughout the year.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com

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