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Tim Nelson

Fair attendance nears 1.8 million, short of last year's record

Trolleys made their way through the crowd.
Trolleys made their way slowly down Cooper Street on the first day of the Minnesota State Fair, August 27, 2015.
Courtney Perry for MPR News

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Nearly 1.8 million people attended this year's Minnesota State Fair — one of the biggest ever, but short of a record.

Last year's attendance set an all-time record, topping 1.8 million for the first time in state fair history. This year, 1,779,738 people passed through the gates this year, which is about 2 percent short of last year's record.

A sunny and less humid Labor Day helped the Fair set an attendance record of more than 178,000, which beats the mark of 164,000 set in 2013.

The 2015 attendance ranks 4th in the fair's history dating back to 1859. The top years were 2014, 2009 and 2012.

This year's fair featured 40 new foods and 11 new frozen treats, the centennial of Ye Old Mill and the 50th anniversary of the crop art contest. It also marked the first Hmong Minnesota Day at the Fair.

Deputy General Manager Renee Alexander said the fair saw some success with new electronic tickets.

"We kind of wanted to dip our toe in the water as it related to electronic ticketing at the gates, and at the end of the fair, we ended up with about 48,000 tickets that were sold via mobile," Alexander said.

She said the online sales started slow, but nearly doubled by the final weekend. Fairgoers could print out tickets at home, or have their smartphone scanned at the gate.