The State Fair of Texas administrative building is under construction in Dallas, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The $15 million project was paid for by the nonprofit and is projected to be completed in November and will belong to the city.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
The State Fair of Texas is building a new headquarters to deepen its roots in the 277-acre Fair Park.
“This is our home. Always been our home,” said Mitch Glieber, president of the State Fair of Texas.
The private organization’s development on public land comes as city officials try to reverse decades of disinvestment in Fair Park.
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The park needs $55 million for urgent repairs and $600 million to update long-neglected century-old buildings and failing equipment. City officials are seeking proposals to redevelop 40 acres for a hotel, restaurants or a parking garage to offset the cost of maintaining Fair Park.
The city amended State Fair’s long-standing lease last year, allowing the nonprofit to build a new facility using over $11 million in private money. This year is also expected to end an era of running fair operations in a building that once housed city communications, fire and police as well as an infirmary.
State Fair’s current headquarters was built in 1936, and Glieber said the organization had outgrown it.
The building is expected to be finished by November – about a year after construction began. The State Fair will be responsible for maintaining its headquarters, but the city will own it.
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Brett Wulke, Fair Park’s general manager, said the buildings the State Fair used to occupy will be available for use by park officials or for rent, but that hasn’t been finalized yet.
The State Fair of Texas President, Mitchell Glieber, sits in his office in the current administrative building at Fair Park in Dallas, Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Contract details
The State Fair’s first office was in the Tower Building. The organization moved into its current facility in 1989.
Jason Hays, with the State Fair, said officials had considered expanding the building, but because the building was historic, an expansion was difficult.
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The new administration building is located in the Midway district of the park, adjacent to the parking lots that will eventually become the long-awaited Community Park.
Architecture firm GFF, which also did work on the Briscoe Carpenter Livestock Center, did the designs.
The new building is designed to blend in with the Art Deco style of the other Fair Park buildings, Hays said. The organization plans to use the building for at least 50 years.
The State Fair already leases the Midway district, and so it’s within the footprint of their contract. Glieber said they picked the site because it’s in a corner and is not disruptive to future activities.
The organization completed the exterior of the new headquarters before the fair opens this year. The building is expected to open in November.
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Renderings of the new office space at Fair Park.
State Fair of Texas
Renderings of the new office space at Fair Park.
State Fair of Texas
Fair Park’s future
Council member Adam Bazaldua, who represents the area, told The Dallas Morning News that he was supportive of new headquarters at the park but said the nonprofit could invest more.
“It’s very clear that that’s the case when the State Fair of Texas can tout record revenue years, can continue to prove and grow success, yet that has not mirrored the state of the grounds that has afforded them their success,” he said.
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The State Fair spokesperson Karissa Condoianis said the organization has contributed $92 million to raise funds for the Briscoe Carpenter Livestock Center, scholarships and repairs.
Nearly half that contribution has gone to pay for the city’s debt to renovate the Cotton Bowl.
As the city moves forward with looking for development opportunities for Fair Park, State Fair officials have said they want to have a say.
“We understand that whether development comes or other ideas of tenants, we can make it work,” Glieber said. “We can adapt, and we’ll be good partners. At the end of the day, we need Fair Park to be successful.”