Cleveland County held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for its new $10 million event hall on the Cleveland County fairgrounds ahead of this weekend’s county fair.
According to a Thursday press release, the event hall has been under construction since September 2024.
The event hall is approximately 27,500 square feet with an occupancy of around 1,200 people, according to Melissa Smuzynski, Cleveland County director of communications. The venue can now fit 63 vendors in the building, compared to last year’s 32.
The event hall was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, which provides relief funds to state, local and tribal governments impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The facility will serve as a rentable space for large gatherings, events and conferences, according to the release. It will also be equipped to support large-scale distribution of medical supplies and resources in emergency situations or natural disasters, the release states.
The city does not have a public storm shelter. OU Daily reached out to a city spokesperson about the addition, who did not immediately respond for comment.
“It would be a place to distribute goods or services in the event of something like a pandemic where we need to hold mass vaccination clinics or if there were a natural disaster, such as a tornado, that were to hit Norman or somewhere in Cleveland County,” Smuzynski said.
The fair will run from Thursday through Sunday, with the carnival available beginning Friday.
This story was edited by Ana Barboza, Natalie Armour and Thomas Pablo.
