Local elected officials from both the City of Fallon and Churchill County joined department heads and staff for a media tour on Monday of the new Rafter 3C Center that is being built at the Churchill County Fairgrounds. The steel frame has been erected and the construction site can be seen from Sheckler Road.
In a presentation before the tour, Commission Chairman Pete Olsen thanked the county staff and the city for their hard work and cooperation during the building process which began in November of 2020.
“Today is a special day, as we look back about 50 years ago the decision was made to buy this piece of property and move the fairgrounds from in town (it was located where Safeway is now) to out here. I thought to myself, ‘could those commissioners and the city leaders who were there, could they have envisioned what’s here now with just the pool and the ball fields, the fairgrounds facility.' I think they would be blown away to think that Fallon is at a place where we could build a facility like this one.”
Mayor Ken Tedford also reminisced about the time the decision was made to move the fairgrounds from downtown, “I was a young guy and I remember thinking, ‘are you kidding they’re moving it way out there, it will never work out there on that big piece of property,’ and it’s prospered. With this vision of the 3C Center, this has always been a positive thing for our community and we’re just really proud to play a part and help promote the County and tourism part of the activities they bring here.” He said the community has lost several events over the years because we didn’t have the facilities. With this facility, several of the events that do come can be expanded.
The 75,000 square foot building sits on an 8.3-acre parcel just west of the existing rodeo arena and grandstands. The arena is 38,700 square feet, with a 16,800 square foot gathering area that can be used for trade shows and vendors during events. The bleachers will seat 1,822 people with 30 handicap spaces.
“We tried to use as many local contractors as we could,” said Chris Spross the county public works director. “Both the civil work and the contractor are local, and most of the vendors are local.”
The floor system is modular which allows for a dirt floor for rodeo and livestock events, but when the need for a real floor arises, the ground can be leveled, and then the plastic floor structure can be installed allowing for athletic events or concerts and car shows. The HVAC system is 100% air exchange which Spross said means there could be a cow sale on Saturday and by Sunday morning for another event, the entire air system would have flushed out any smells. There is also a large concession area, large video screens, and livestock pens with a wash area.
The project is expected to be completed by December this year and comes in at a $12.5 million budget.
The thing you hear over and over,” said County Manager Jim Barbee, “is community. This project will touch everyone in this community by creating these hotels, by driving more business to downtown or to businesses in the county.”
He said the 3C Center will have a significant impact across multiple levels by preparing the community for those times like the pandemic or the 2017 flood, positioning the community to be more responsive in terms of safety in emergencies, as well as the economic development possibilities.
“What this does for our community with the economic impact and how this will create such an economic boon for our businesses,” said Tedford, “I just think how great this is and how thankful I am that the county stepped out in faith and did this on this piece of property.”
“I think about what this facility can do for our community,” he said, “and put Fallon on the map in a way we haven’t had the ability to because there was no way for us to host some of these events that are out there.”
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