If everything goes as planned, the Mesa County Fairgrounds could look a lot different by next fall. Today officials got past the first step toward making these changes a reality.

The Mesa County Board of Commissioners met and approved the fairgrounds request to apply for two grants.

The first one is a planning grant which allows for design engineering of the west end of the fairgrounds. This will include relocation of the BMX track, improvement to the veteran’s park, and a new entrance and parking area.

The second grant would be for construction of a covered arena that would improve use of the livestock and equestrian facilities. Officials say this would help the fairgrounds become a more desirable location.

“These projects are the beginning of many more projects in the next few years that we hope is really going to transform the way our fairgrounds functions and what it does for this community” said Jo Carole Haxel, Manager of the Mesa County Fairgrounds.

These projects are part of a master plan that will take years to complete and will also make use of land that's currently undeveloped. 

These grants will be submitted though Great Outdoors Colorado, which draws money from lottery funds collected in the state of Colorado.

Officials at the Mesa County Fairgrounds will find out in June if their projects were selected and if they were construction will begin this fall.