Fairgrounds in Washington With Floor Plans

Fairgrounds in Washington range from county grounds with a commercial building or two to large sites with several halls, such as the Washington State Fair Events Center in Puyallup. Below are Washington fairgrounds that already have ready-made floor plans in Map D's Venue Library, linked to their venue pages so you can open a plan and start your vendor layout. First, here is how to choose a fairground for a vendor show, expo, festival or market, and how to plan around rain on the west side and heat and cold on the east side.

Dimensions in this article come from the plans drawn in Map D's Venue Library, not from official venue specifications, so confirm every measurement, door and utility location with the venue before you sell a single space.

How to Choose a Washington Fairground for Your Event

Fairgrounds are often cheaper per square foot than a convention center, but the rental may cover less, and outdoor space adds weather risk. Pick the site that fits your vendor count, your load-in, your guests' drive time and your season.

1. Size the Show Before You Tour

Count vendor spaces by size, then add aisles, food, stages, restrooms, first aid and the show office. The exhibit hall size calculator turns a vendor mix into the gross space you need. Treat the result as a planning assumption to check against the fire marshal's rules. As a rough example, a building plan of about 111 x 137 feet is about 15,000 square feet gross; if roughly half goes to vendor spaces, that is room for around 75 10 x 10 spaces before you subtract doors and columns.

2. Exhibit Halls, Pavilions and Outdoor Lots

• Exhibition or commercial building: Best for vendor shows, craft fairs, gun and hobby shows, collectibles and consumer expos. Ask whether it is heated on your dates, because an unheated building in a Washington winter is hard on vendors and guests.
• Pavilion or arena: Covered or open-sided space that suits livestock shows, equestrian events, car shows and food festivals. Ask about the floor surface, lighting, heat and drainage.
• Outdoor lots and midways: Good for food trucks, carnival rides, equipment displays and overflow vendors. Ask about surface, power pedestals and how the lot drains after a long rain.

3. Load-In, Parking and RVs

Ask how vendors reach each building, whether there are drive-in doors, where trailers park and how long the setup window is. Many fairgrounds have RV areas used during their own fair; ask whether vendors who stay on site can park RVs on your dates and whether hookups are included. For grounds reached over the Cascades, such as those in Moses Lake and Kennewick for vendors coming from the west side, give vendors slack in the setup window for winter pass conditions. Write a vendor load-in schedule once you have the answers.

4. Power and Water

Food vendors, demo booths and carnival operators need power, and many need water. Mark power drops, pedestals and water hookups on the plan before you number spaces, and charge for power as a separate line on the vendor application so you know who needs it.

5. Aisle Widths and Fire Code

Fairground buildings still need a code-compliant layout. Keep exits clear, check your trade show aisle width, mark fire equipment on the plan and review the fire marshal floor plan requirements before you submit. Outdoor layouts need clear lanes for emergency vehicles too.

6. Seasons, Rain, Heat and Smoke

Washington's two sides of the mountains plan differently. West of the Cascades, rain is common through much of fall, winter and spring, so plan covered queues, mats at the doors and a dry place for vendor carts. East of the Cascades, summers are hotter and winters colder, so ask about cooling and heating in each building. Summer can also bring wildfire smoke in some years, so for any event with outdoor space, have an indoor fallback, water and shade, and decide in advance who calls a delay or move indoors for smoke, heat or lightning.

Questions to Ask a Washington Fairground Before You Sign

Use this list on site visits, and see our full list of questions to ask an event venue for contract terms and costs.

1. Which buildings, pavilions and outdoor lots does the rental include, and can you send a current site plan with dimensions?
2. Is the exhibit building heated and cooled on our dates, including setup and teardown days?
3. Where are the doors, power drops, water hookups and restrooms, and which areas must stay clear?
4. Where do vendor trucks, trailers and RVs park, and are hookups included?
5. What happens to our contract if snow, smoke or another emergency closes the grounds on our dates?
6. Which services are exclusive to the venue, such as food, security, cleaning or electrical?
7. What other events are on the grounds on our dates, and how will gates and parking be shared?
8. What insurance and certificates do you require from us and from our vendors?

Washington State Fair Events Center, Puyallup

• [Washington State Fair Events Center](/venues/washington-state-fair-events-center-puyallup/), Puyallup: the drawn plan spans about 288 x 509 feet, and the venue page lists a second plan. A separate listing, Washington State Fair and Events Center, has a plan of about 310 x 111 feet, so pick the one that matches the building you rent and sketch a multi-building event building by building.

Northwest and Puget Sound Fairgrounds

• [Northwest Washington Fairgrounds](/venues/northwest-washington-fairgrounds-lynden/), Lynden: the drawn plan spans about 524 x 427 feet, and the venue page lists more plans. A plan that size likely covers more than one building or outdoor area, so ask the venue which parts your rental includes.
• [Kitsap County Fairgrounds](/venues/kitsap-county-fairgrounds-bremerton/), Bremerton: the drawn plan spans about 255 x 193 feet.
• [Kitsap County Fairgrounds, Pavilion](/venues/kitsap-county-fairgrounds-pavilion-bremerton/), Bremerton: the drawn plan spans about 252 x 160 feet, which suits a vendor market, car show or food event under one roof.

Central and Eastern Washington Fairgrounds

• [Benton County Fairgrounds](/venues/benton-county-fairgrounds-kennewick/), Kennewick: the plan titled "Building 2" spans about 167 x 124 feet, and the venue page lists a second plan.
• [Grant County Fairgrounds](/venues/grant-county-fairgrounds-moses-lake/), Moses Lake: the plan titled "Commercial Building" spans about 111 x 137 feet, a size for a regional vendor show or craft market, and the venue page lists a second plan.

Other Washington Event Centers to Consider

If no fairground fits your dates, a few event centers in the library offer similar open floors. Clark County Event Center in Ridgefield has a plan titled "Hall C" of about 263 x 213 feet, and the Yakima Convention Center & Yakima Sun Dome has a plan of about 516 x 543 feet. Need a convention hall instead? Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane and other halls are covered in convention centers in Washington State.

How to Start a Layout From a Venue Library Plan

Each venue page in the Map D venue directory shows the plans drawn for that building, with dimensions in feet and a preview.

1. Open the venue and choose the plan closest to the building you will rent.
2. Select Use This Floor Plan Free and create a free account; the plan opens in the editor.
3. Check it against the venue's current site plan, and add outdoor lots, tents and gates as needed.
4. Block out entrances, the show office, food, restrooms, first aid, covered queues and fire equipment clearances.
5. Lay out numbered vendor spaces and aisles in standard sizes, with corner and end spots marked.
6. Price spaces by size and location, mark which have power, and hold spots for returning vendors.
7. Send the layout to the venue and the fire marshal before vendor sales open.

When the layout is approved, event floor plan software keeps one version of the map that vendors, staff and guests all work from, and vendor fair software connects it to applications and payments. For costs, see how much it costs to rent a fairground and how much to charge for a vendor booth, and for other states, fairgrounds in California and fairgrounds in Florida.

Common Mistakes When Renting a Washington Fairground

• Booking a building without confirming heat for winter dates or cooling for summer dates.
• Assuming the rental includes outdoor lots, pavilions or parking without getting it in writing.
• Leaving covered queues and mats out of a wet-season layout on the west side.
• Skipping a smoke, heat and lightning plan for outdoor areas in summer.
• Leaving setup and teardown days out of the budget.
• Selling vendor spaces before the fire marshal has reviewed the layout.

Where Map D Fits

Map D is floor plan and booth sales software for organizers. You open a venue plan, then add vendor spaces, aisles, stages and labels in the editor. When the layout is ready, a paid plan lets you publish an interactive map, share it with vendors and guests and sell spaces online, with no Map D transaction fees on booth sales. Map D does not book venues, quote rates or replace the venue's official site plan, so keep the venue and the fire marshal in the loop on every revision. To see it with your own event, request a demo or build a free floor plan.