'Very emotional': Brockton Fairgrounds grandstand demolished, city plans to purchase land
BROCKTON – For Christopher Carney, the Brockton businessman whose family has owned the Brockton Fairgrounds since 1957, it’s an emotional end to an era.
“I started going there as young as I can remember,” Carney said. “I've always been at the fair working. Whether it was cutting grass, pouring beer, picking up trash, it's been very much a part of my life."
The Brockton Fairgrounds grandstand came down Monday morning, just days before City Councilor-at-large Winthrop Farwell Jr. announced in a Facebook post that the city would move to take control of the 66-acre property.
After canceling the 2020, 2021 and 2022 fairs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Carneys made the tough call to close the city staple for good.
Closed for good: Brockton Fair, a beloved 148-year-old tradition, won't return – here's why
They Carneys looked on as crews took a little more than two hours to finish the demolition, remembering what was once a flourishing summer staple for his family and so many others.
Remembering the Brockton Fair
Every summer, for nearly 150 years, people from across the region flocked to Brockton over a two-week period to play games, enjoy rides, eat greasy and fried finger foods, visit animal exhibits and watch the demolition derby and fireworks.
Carney family patriarch George Carney purchased the fairgrounds when he was just 28 years old back in 1957.
From oxen-pulling to horse racing, circuses to petting zoos, hot dogs and cigarettes to fried Oreos and IPAs, the Brockton Fair has seen it all.
A look back at the Brockton Fair:A look back at the Brockton Fair
“In the late '70s and early '80s, we had horse racing that was very popular,” Chris Carney said. “The fair was going strong, but then crime reared its ugly head. It wasn’t what it was 25 years ago as far as the attendance."
15 years of Brockton fairs in photos:15 years of Brockton Fairs – in photos!
George, now 95 years old, sat with his son as the grandstand came down.
“It was very emotional to him,” Carney said.
A tough call
With declining attendance, keeping up the yearly financial burden of the fairground, which included $450,000 of property taxes, wasn’t sustainable, Carney said.
“I don't want anybody to think that we didn't take into consideration the history of the fair,” Carney said of the decision to sell. “But you have to understand that the fair has declined over the last umpteen years and COVID kind of put a nail in the coffin."
Pandemic concerns led the Carneys to cancel the 2020, 2021 and 2022 fairs, leasing the property to the city for school bus parking instead.
What’s next for the fairground?
In the past, the Carneys had eyed building a casino there in partnership with gambling mogul Neil Bluhm. That effort hit a dead end, with the September 2019 rejection of the bid by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
For the past several years, the property has been used to house Brockton Public School buses.
After years of speculation about the future of the property, Farewell announced on Wednesday that the city had entered into a memorandum of agreement to acquire the fairgrounds.
“The first step in this process will be presented at the City Council meeting next Monday, July 24th,” Farwell said in a July 19th post on Facebook. “The intent is to eventually sell parcels of land to developers after we identify the best uses of the property for economic development, recreation, job creation, maximizing real estate tax revenue, and protection of neighborhoods."
Some concepts to consider, Farwell wrote, are an interactive park for children, an international marketplace for small businesses, restaurants, a cultural center, movie theater, traffic improvements, private residences for seniors, green space and parking.
“The future is within our grasp," he wrote. "We have significant development potential with control of this strategically located property. Belmont Street could be called the 'Avenue of Champions' leading to the center of the city."
While Carney is also excited about future developments for the city, he hopes people will still remember all the happy memories they had at the fair.
“We always felt the fair was synonymous with Brockton," he said. "What you thought about Brockton, people said, 'Oh, the fair.' It was a landmark.”
Timeline highlights
1874: Brockton Agricultural Society holds first fair in October. Oct. 6-9, 1880: First fair covered by The Enterprise.
1887: First Children's Day, which gave city children the day off from school to attend the fair.
1895: First balloon show, spurring an annual attraction.
1896: First “horseless carriage,” an early automobile made by Duryea Motor Wagon Co., at fair.
1898: First horse show.
1903: First track and field meet, and new record set for gate receipts.
1905: First Governor's Day to honor Brockton shoe manufacturer William L. Douglas, elected as Massachusetts governor.
1907: An estimated 3,000 automobiles gathered at the fair, the most ever assembled in one place in the U.S. up to that time.
1908: A 25-mile marathon from Boston Athletic Club to Brockton Fairgrounds begins. (The event stopped after 1917 due to war.)
1912: President Taft visits fair.
1915: No cattle, sheep or swine allowed at fair due to hoof and mouth disease. First automobile show held.
1917: Society donates fair profits to American Red Cross for war effort.
1918: Fair canceled due to influenza epidemic.
1919: Night shows begin to include fireworks.
1924: Veterans Nursing Association begins lunch-box program at the fair to raise money for people in need of free medical care.
1932: State Building dedicated.
1943: Fair canceled due to war.
1957: George Carney takes over.
1959: Fair changed from fall to early July.
1965: Stunt car accident at fair injures eight.
1972: Horse racing portion of the fair stops.
1990: Residents call for end of fair because of violence.
1993: $1 gate admission begins.
2001: Horse racing returns.
2002: Carney announces end to horse racing.
Brockton Fair photo album 2010:Brockton Fair photo album
2015: Brockton voters narrowly approve a $650 million proposal to bring a hotel and casino to the Brockton Fairgrounds.
2016 Brockton fair photos:The 2016 Brockton Fair opens
2019: State Gaming Commission rejects casino plan.
Last Brockton Fair in 2019:Another year of the Brockton Fair begins in the city
2020, 2021 and 2022: Fair cancelled because of COVID epidemic
2022: Chris Carney confirms Fair will not return
2023: Grandstand is demolished. The city moves to buy fairground.
Enterprise staff writer Amelia Stern can be reached by email at astern@enterprisenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton Fairgrounds grandstand demolished, city to buy land
