Florida State Fairgrounds

Address:	4800 U.S. 301, Tampa, FL 33610, USA
Phone:	+1 800-345-3247
Site:	floridastatefair.com
Rating:	4.2

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 10

Lori Broyles

Ive been to two high school graduations here, two horse shows, and of course many annual state fairs & concerts over the years. The grounds are large, and parking is plentiful from several different entrances. Its mostly unpaved, which makes wearing dressier shoes awkward for special events like graduations. Bathrooms in the Expo Hall & Special Event Center are clean & usually well-stocked, but theres often an attendant handing you a paper towel & expecting a tip (definitely during the State Fair). Both of these main buildings are older, poorly lit, & noticeably dated. In spite of my tinnitus, I dont think the sound is very good, either. But the facilities are large & climate-controlled, usually offering reasonable event admission fees, if any (graduations are notably free with only a parking fee). Cracker Country also on property is fascinating & well-maintained. While its a State Fair staple, I think its open year-round. Its very historical & informative.

Li Mike MC-coy

When my husband and I first went through the gate we saw a woman faint. Within seconds a medic was there to help her. That makes a person very comfortable to be there. The Dennis Lee Show was awesome. Then we went in to see the Tribute to the Statlers. We found our seats and waited for the show. The River City Boys sounded like them. People were coming in all during the show. An usher was shouting near us, "sit anywhere". Then when it was about filled two ushers stood next to us and talked about what to do next. Then we heard more shouts seats on the other side. All this could be solved by the ushers being at the door to tell the people where to sit. More chairs were eventually added. They hadnt planned for so many motorized wheel chairs and walkers either. The Elvis show was ok. The first one had the voice, the second had the moves. The others were so so.

Chris .C

Very difficult to get in and out of and quite frankly one of the worst fairgrounds Ive ever been to and Ive certainly been to my share and then some.I would avoid this mess until they do something with this place which actually has the potential to be upgraded and made into a 21 st century facility.I guess Tampa doesnt have the funds or the desire or bothThey should tear this dump down and make it the new home to the Tampa Bay Rays which would actually be a great idea that could revitalize this entire depressive area.Every time I fly into Tampa and go to this area its just a total feeling of what a waste the leaders of this Citry,County and State should all feel complicit in making Tampa look like a 3rd rate city of waisted oppurtunities and what could be.Special events center?More like special location of a national punchline to a joke of a City.

Michelle G

Florida state fair was a cluster-f as far as parking lot and security goes. The RV show did a much better job. Im in a wheelchair, a manual one without a motor, and they wouldnt let fiancee drop me off closer and informed us there was NO handicap parking. Tho we explained the situation with having the wheelchair and the service dog, they stuck us out in a big grass field. Not impressed with the food layout either. Could not find any of the vendors who had the top 5 fair foods to try, and no one we asked that worked there knew where they were. All in all, I wouldnt waste money going to this fair ever again. Oh, and FYI a letter to the lady who runs it got ZERO email response either, so apparently feedback doesnt mean squat either...

Ken Ricker

We decided to watch the Heavy Horse pulling event. The website indicates it starts at 11:AM. Although the website is pathetic. The program we were given indicated the horse pull event started at 12:00 noon. There was nothing happening at noon, so I asked a group of horsemen what time the horse pulling started. They replied they really did not know, it has not been announced" We asked a State Fair employee, and they could not give any idea. At 2:PM the light horses began their event. When it was finished the Heavy Horse Pulling event was to start at 3:PM as announced by the announcer. The heavy horse pulling event, eventually started at 3:30 PM I suggest the Livestock area needs some organization....!

Steve Poleshuk

Each Year they take more & more of the meaning out of the word FAIR out and put more rides in places where there were things of learning and entertainment.It seems its turning into a large Carnival.It has been going slowly down hill since Steinbrenner ran it.I see the photos of the people who write good reviews and it seems they are to young to remmember or only have interest in the rides anyway the Carnival part of the fair. So maybe if this is way management wants to go they should change the name to " The Florida State Carnival" i was there 02/10 and other then Cracker Country and couple of biuldings they have trashed the fair.Please find somebody to put the meaning of the word Fair back into the Fair.

Paul Gereaux

Venue is well suited for music. Seats are fairly comfortable even for my really bad back. Two things that prevent a 5th star: 1) The concession prices are insanely high. Like, Ive given up less money at gunpoint. 2) the TINY handicapped parking area is behind the stage and its a long walk back after the show assuming you get in h-parking at all. Even with my blue tag hanging in the window already they still instructed me to park closer to the Hard Rock than the venue while some jerkoff in a Mazeratti parked in the handicapped lot. When I questioned the parking attendant, he said: "thats life". They really need to get a handle on these things or the venue will start to suffer.

Mr Fallior

Dont like this fair at all.. Youd think, since its a state fair, it would be a larger version of a regular fair, but based on the content they have, my small hometown fair in New York was better than this. Not only that, but their security is so rude. We werent allowed to bring our water in (despite other fairs allowing it), we didnt know that, but the security treated it like we had automatic rifles and we were going to shoot up the place or something. I really dislike this fair and doubt I will ever go back unless they start adding more variety and actually making it THE fair of Florida and not just another small town fair.

Aut B

Went to the recent MUSE concert. Not really impressed with the amphitheater when it comes to sound. I have been to several MUSE concerts and this was not up to par for their typical performances because of the limitations of the amphitheater. Other than that things were decent. You might boil alive in the oven that is the restroom though. They have fans running but Im pretty sure they dont actually do anything useful and you cant feel them moving the air. Prices for food are as expected for fair grounds; thats to say, reem your wallet expensive. Will be looking for other venues for concerts at least.

Timothy Fay

This year was the fist time ever going to the fair. I had a blast. It is a bit expensive, But its worth the money. I had a great time. There is no shortage of rides, and there are a million food stands. This is where I spent most of my money. You can get an unlimited ride band for $35 or you can buy tickets. I didnt go to ride all of the rides, so I bought ride tickets. I paid $20 for 20 tickets. That gave 2 of us 4 rides. If you want to ride more than 4 rides, and there are 2 or more of you, I would highly recommend buying the unlimited rides. Definitely bring money. You will Spend money to eat.