The Iowa State Fair broke its attendance record with a big final weekend.
Attendance for the 2018 Iowa State Fair has just barely broken last year’s record.
The Iowa State Fair’s 11-day run ended Sunday. State Fair officials say attendance had been lagging just slightly behind 2017 numbers through Friday, but a strong weekend boosted the 2018 Fair’s total attendance past the record set in 2017 — by just 189 people. More than 1.1 million people visited the Fair this year.
Fair officials point to expanded seating in the Grandstand as one reason for strong attendance numbers. More than 14-thousand people attended Reba McIntyre’s opening night concert. Last Wednesday’s concert by Thomas Rhett attracted a crowd of nearly 16-thousand.
The previous record attendance at a Grandstand concert was 10,643, which was considered a sell out before Grandstand renovations this year opened up 4,000 additional seats.