Valencia Fair board donates property to Valencia County

The Valencia County fairgrounds have officially been transferred into the hands of Valencia County.

At a special meeting on March 6, the Valencia County Commission unanimously approved the property transfer, which was first floated by the Valencia Fair Management Co. in July 2025.

Valencia Fair Management Co. Board President Liz Marquez said the decision to donate the property to the county is the result of a lot of “back and forth on the board for months. Was this the right decision? It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was a good one.”

The Valencia County Fair began around the same time New Mexico became a state in 1912 and, in 1946, the Valencia County Fair Association was formed and purchased the property off the I-25 Bypass north of the city of Belen.

Marquez described the management board as a “paper company with everything done all through fundraising. It’s due to the community’s generosity we’ve been able to put on the fair for the kids for close to 100 years. But we are at the point where we could not really maintain the property.”

Using donated funds, board members, 4-H, FFA and agriculturally-inclined families throughout the county have come together over the years, volunteering time and sweat to keep up the fairgrounds and buildings, Marquez said, but that could only go so far.

The offer by VFMC to donate the property hinged on one key requirement — the fair absolutely had to continue.

“If you look at a lot of communities and their small fairs, they can’t continue. The county wants to continue the fair,” Marquez said. “So now all we have to do is worry about the fair for the kids. It is a huge tradition here.

“Our benefit is we get to continue having the fair here. It’s not about the value of the property. It’s about continuing the fair for the kids. We talked over all kinds of options. This one was the best. I’m excited to see what comes.”

The fairgrounds property is comprised of two parcels — one is developed while the second is vacant. Both pieces of property are in the unincorporated area of Valencia County, not within the boundaries of the city of Belen, on the south side of the I-25 Bypass, south of Walmart.

The developed property is 17.33 acres and is where the main show barn and other infrastructure is located. It is a U-shaped piece of property that wraps around the rodeo arena owned by the Valencia County Sheriff’s Posse and the Sheriff’s Posse Hall, a restaurant owned by CLS Corporation.

To the west of that property, across the Los Chavez Drain and abutting Don Felipe Road is the second parcel, 15.89 acres of undeveloped land, colloquially known as “the marsh.”

During the July 2025 commission meeting, Jeremiah Ash, who is on the real estate committee for the VFMC, said there is 2,800 square feet under cover, with 1,300 square feet cooled by evaporative cooler, plus a 650 square-foot kitchen and 850 square feet of restrooms.

He noted the property has water and sewer service at the property line and multiple service points for electric.

While the VFMC can now focus completely on the annual fair, it is still on the hook for $20,590 in back property taxes.

Marquez said when she was elected board president in October, she became aware of the debt. When the company sold property to a development company for the new Allsup’s on the I-25 Bypass, that revenue exceeded donations, thus making the nonprofit ineligible for property tax exemption for the 2024 and 2025 tax years. The property west of the drain is exempt because it’s use is considered agricultural.

“The other piece, because we’ve had other uses, and we didn’t have enough donations after the property sale, we owed taxes on the property,” she said. “That stays with us; we have to pay the taxes.”

Language in the agreement between the county and VFMC and in the warranty deed specifies the company is completely responsible for the unpaid property taxes.

“VFMC shall pay or cause to be paid all such taxes and assessments in full through the date of closing. The county shall have no responsibility or liability for any property taxes or assessments accruing prior to the effective date,” the agreement reads.

During a walk through of the fairgrounds on Wednesday, March 18, four of the five county commissioners got a rundown of the property. The biggest priority is safety improvements, said Valencia County Manager Jhonathan Aragon.

Gophers and prairie dogs have made the grounds their home, riddling it with holes and burrows. The goat barn next to the show ring is in need of a safety assessment, Aragon said, and might be replaced with a large tent during this year’s fair if it proves to be unsound. Other immediate priorities include leveling out the ground and making sure there is proper drainage.

The agreement signed by the county and VFMC provides office and meeting space for the fair management company on the grounds free of charge, as well as free space for 4-H, FFA youth programs and similar agricultural youth programs for meetings, educational programs, practices and related activities, if there’s availability.

Aragon said the fair management board has events scheduled for 2026 and those agreements will be left in place.

“Anything past that we will take on as the county. We are hoping to attract events like dog and horse shows. There has been a lot of interest in agricultural events,” the county manger said. “There’s the potential for rodeos and roping events in the arena (on the east side of the property). We are open to a lot of things if we can accommodate them. There are endless possibilities.”

The commission’s primary focus is agricultural, educational events for children, he said. The NMSU Cooperative Extension Office, currently housed in a small office on Courthouse Road in Los Lunas, is the main provider of ag education programs in the county, as well as the home of 4-H.

“The ultimate goal is to move the extension service onto the property. It will provide space for them to hold 4-H meetings, operate their other services and also have someone on the property during the day,” he said.

So far, the county has been granted $2.1 million in legislative appropriations for improvements and new projects on the fairgrounds.

“If we show we are using the funding up quickly there is a good likelihood the legislators will continue to fund this project,” the manager said. “We aren’t taking everything over immediately. This hasn’t been our thing for the last 50 years. We want to learn from them, be good partners, have them teach us the way in a sense.

“We want to make it a place for all. The goal, moving down this road with the (fair) board is ultimately we want students and kids who show (animals) to succeed and learn the lifestyle they’ve adopted.”

The agreement stipulates that in the event the county sells the property, it is obligated to ensure any subsequent owner is legally bound to provide a suitable location for the annual fair under the same terms and conditions.