Picking up tickets for one of the fair’s marquee grandstand events should be a little more convenient this year.

In past years, folks picking up “will call” tickets at the fair’s box office had to pass through the gates and make their way to Homesteader Hall in the middle of the fairgrounds to get their tickets. That created some complications for gate attendants, who needed to verify the person actually had purchased tickets before allowing them to enter the fair for free.

This year, however, the main walk-in gate off of Fifth Street will double as a box office, where folks can pick up grandstand tickets.

“It will be right out there front and center,” said Park County Events Administrator Audra Jewell.

The upgraded booth has three ticket windows plus a fourth overflow window in case things gets really busy, Jewell said.

Meanwhile, folks who already have their grandstand tickets in hand can enter through the other walk-in/drive-in gates on Seventh Street (near Gilbert Street) and on Sixth Street, at the west end of the grounds.

Fair officials initially tried to close the Sixth Street gate last year in an effort to keep vehicles from interfering with the campers on the northwest side of the grounds. However, the change “just didn’t quite work out as planned” and “caused a major malfunction,” said Park County Buildings and Grounds Superintendent Mike Garza. The gate wound up being reopened.

For 2019, the Sixth Street gate will be open for the entire fair and the security team tasked with helping to prevent any parking problems.

“We just need to be a little more ... aware of parking and getting people parked in the right spots,” said Garza.

Depending on which gate they use, fairgoers may notice upgraded gatehouses. The county converted two structures into permanent booths that have siding, insulation and air conditioning, with a third expected to be completed for next year’s fair. They should make things more comfortable for ticket-takers. The plan is for the new booths to be permanently located near the gates, rather than being shuttled around like the old ones.

“We’re hoping to place them so they’ll be kind of out of the way from regular non-fair traffic, but they’re still in place for when we set off fair,” Garza said.