By David Kenney| September 18, 2020
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The state of Mississippi is preparing to open their new event space. The work is nearing completion on the new Mississippi Trade Mart.
The state says they’re just a couple of weeks from opening the $30 million dollar facility to the public. Finishing touches are being made to the outside of the building. Inside you have a state-of-the-art gathering space.
The new Trade Mart building is bigger and better than the old one. With 64,000 square feet of exhibit space, the event hall can be split into three rooms allowing for multiple events to be held at one time.
Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson said, “This is a first-class venue that we have not had and it’s going to totally transform our ability to have not only bigger events but better quality of events. As you can see, the audiovisual equipment here inside the trade hall and in the hallways… wherever you are in this building you can see what’s going on.”
The lobby at the entrance is glassed in. There’s also a mural of the state made out of Mississippi timber greeting visitors – that theme carried throughout the main hallway where there will be three new eateries.
Interim Fair Commission Director Michael Lasseter said, “I think the experience will be much better, plus we have new cafés, a lot more audiovisual; it’s gonna be a much better experience for our customers.”
The main hall connects directly to the Coliseum where there’s another 28-thousand-square-feet of space and more upgrades. All the seats have been replaced there along with new handrails and flooring.
It’s also got a fresh coat of paint to match the new Trade Mart next door. If you come to the fair you can get a look at the new Trade Mart. They plan to have an agriculture exhibit in there starting October 7th.
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