More beer ... more money

COEUR d'ALENE - If you want to sit in the grandstand at the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo and watch an event this year, you can drink a beer while you're doing it, but it's going to cost you more than the price of the brew.

For the first time, there will be a $5 fee to watch the rodeo, motocross or demolition derby from one of the covered, wooden stadium seats overlooking the arena.

Another first - legal beer drinkers will be able to carry their brew into the stands, or with them as they walk around the fair grounds.

Both moves will provide additional revenue for fairground facility improvements. The fair board hopes the changes will also enhance the fair experience for many attendees.

"Historically, people would come into the grandstand, maybe two, three hours before an event, spread out their blankets and save seats," said Chris Holloway, the fair's general manager. "It was just really hard because some people would come onto the grounds specifically to go to an event, and get here and there wouldn't be any place to sit."

Remedying that situation has been an ongoing challenge for the fair board over the years.

"They like the pay one price, it's a family event," Holloway said. "But there are a group of people who want to know that they have a seat when they come to an event."

There are 1,100 numbered grandstand seats available for reservation prior to the fair through TicketsWest, with the opportunity to select seats according to section.

But Grandstand fans no longer need to sit in Section 1 - nearest the beer garden - to be able to run into the beer garden for a quick brew while watching events.

They can carry the frothy alcoholic refreshments with them into the stands, or while strolling the grounds.

Holloway said it's in keeping with the fair's tradition of being a family-friendly event.

"People want to come to the fair with their families, but they want to have a beer," Holloway said. "With the beer garden, families are forced to separate."

Beer will also be available for purchase at several locations on the fairgrounds, in addition to the beer garden.

"Having beer on the grounds is not a new concept, it's just expanding it, offering it in a broader sense," Holloway said. "Now you can have a hamburger, and have a beer with it."

Beer sold in the beer garden will continue to be for the benefit of the North Idaho College Booster Club. All other sales will benefit the fair.

It's done at many sporting events and at other fairs, Holloway said. There will be increased security, and specialized alcohol management training for volunteers staffing the fair.

"When you think about a beer garden situation, it's more of an opportunity to binge drink. You know, you want to down it real quick so you can get back on the grounds," Holloway said. "Now you can kind of wander around. We'll give it a shot this year, and see how it goes."

The decision to expand beer sales was a difficult one for the fair board. Holloway knows she will likely be having many conversations with people who don't like the concept.

"It's just another source of revenue. We're sitting here with these old structures and a lot of maintenance, and we've got to find ways to improve our buildings," Holloway said.

They would like to upgrade and expand the 1960s-era grandstand, she said, but the funds just aren't there. It's another reason the fair board decided to charge $5 for a seat this year.

The grandstand seat fee is in addition to the admission gate price - $8 for adults and teens, $7 for seniors and $4 for youth ages 6-12.

Advanced reserved seats, with reduced admission prices for early purchasers, are available online through TicketsWest, ticketswest.rdln.com, or by phone at (800) 325-7328. No grandstand tickets will be sold at the fair office.

Tickets for seats that haven't been sold prior to the fair will be on sale on a first-come, first-served basis near the grandstand for the same $5 charge.

For an adult, an advance combination ticket will cost $6 for admission and $5 for the grandstand seat, with a $1.50 service fee.

"For $12.50 you're getting not only the grandstand plus all our entertainment and fair, and so we believe it's still a great value," Holloway said. "For the families that it's a bit of a stretch, we still have a lot of seating out there we're not charging for."

Seating on the ground level metal bleachers, which hold 1,500 to 2,000 fans, will remain free.

The grandstand seats are each 20-inches wide, and set apart by yellow lines painted on the wood.

As far as babies go, they're treating the little ones like the airlines do.

"If they're taking a seat, we need to sell it," she said.

Information: 765-4969