More than a year after concept designs for a covered horse arena at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds were presented to the public, the county is hosting an information session on plans to make those plans a reality.
The Lewis County Board of Commissioners announced in a Facebook post over the weekend that Fair and Events Manager Fionna Velazquez will host the town hall session Thursday evening at the fairgrounds starting at 6 p.m.
According to the post from Lewis County, the event will cover a phased plan to construct a covered horse arena on the north end of the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds to the tune of $3.5 to $4 million.
In July of last year, the county received the results of a study and concept design work it commissioned at the beginning of 2025 during a public presentation.
A market analysis from consultants Populous and CSL international, contractors working on the project, predicted that a covered arena of 150 feet by 300 feet with 35 feet of clearance and seating for 500 people could attract relatively small year-round events, allowing for additional revenue from the site. These would be events the fairgrounds currently cannot accommodate.
That work also included a concept design of the arena and a proposed master plan for the entire fairgrounds. Concept designs for the arena suggested shortening the arena by 10 feet to become a 140-foot by 300-foot arena for economical use of the area.
The market analysis and concept designs were funded by a roughly $200,000 grant from the Washington state Department of Commerce that was advocated for in the Washington state House Capital Budget Committee by local lawmaker Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis.
For previous reporting by The Chronicle on the proposed equestrian event space, visit https://tinyurl.com/3m2ctsbd.
