It has only take two decades to get EAA to realize that it is in not
only to their benefit, but also the taxpayers of Winnebago County to
combine the AirVenture Grounds with the Fairgrounds...afterall it is
county property. When they build the existing fairgrounds there were
those who said combine the two...but no, EAA seemed to have the
political pull to keep everyone away from their corner of the world
and have the county taketh away land from landowners to expand the
airport grounds even further. Much of this expansion was being used
for vehicle parking, which subsidized the farmers who owned it...now
EAA collects the cash.

Over the past few years EAA has opened the doors to other events such
as Ducks Unlimited and a agriculture show. I believe John Deere still
has their dealer conventions there...hence the green tractors and ATVs
that blanket the grounds during the convention.

The taxpayers were cheated, now it has become apparent that EAAs sole
control of the grounds was short sighted. Even the new Country USA
grounds west of the airport aren't working as well as
predicted...access to the highway, something the EAA grounds has...had
they built a new amphitheater there (on the airport grounds) a decade
ago, it would have saved a lot of wasted resources and money.

The fairgrounds on the north side was a huge mistake...something about
building it across the road and downwind of the county landfill
doesn't make attending concerts enjoyable after a particularly busy
day at the dump.

Many of us knew this would happen...had they listened to us then, we
wouldn't be talking about it now. The geographic footprint of the
airport isn't justified 50 of the 52 weeks a year. Had the forefathers
of Winnebago and Outagamie Counties been able to agree on a location
for a joint airport....things would be a whole lot different than they
are today.

Before you ask...yes I am a member of EAA and a resident and taxpayer
of Winnebago County.