PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Fair Board and horse enthusiasts have saddled up a proposal to enclose the fairgrounds’ horse arena, an idea intended to rein in year-round use and offseason tourist dollars.
“It’s something that a number of us who own horses have dreamed about for years,” said Carol Johnson, an equestrienne and Fair Board chairwoman.
“A group of individuals had an interest in at least exploring the possibility of covering an arena at the fairgrounds for a number of events.”
The idea, still in its infancy, is to construct a metal building to enclose the dirt floor of the horse arena on the east side of the fairgrounds.
It would have to be at least 200 feet long and 135 feet wide to work, and would include grandstands and additional horse stalls.
The project’s cost is loosely estimated in the $750,000 range, said Johnson, but a designer would have to confirm that.
Johnson said such a building is years away and requires design work and money to build it.