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Fair Park, bringing an estimated half-million visitors to the area from May to August. That's the vision of Errol McKoy, president of the State Fair of Texas, who wants to build a summer amusement and entertainment complex there by 2012. But it can't be "State Fair Lite," he warned. McKoy sees the new State Fair amusement park stealing some of the thunder from Six Flags Over Texas. That idea, said a Six Flags spokeswoman, is "comical." "I know how theme parks work," said McKoy, who worked for Six Flags for 20 years before becoming chief of the State Fair in 1987. "I certainly know how they think." A Dallas Morning News review of the State Fair's finances found that McKoy's plans hang almost entirely on the economy. Because Summer Place funding depends on future profits from the State Fair over the next three years, nothing is guaranteed. Dallas-area tourism officials say Summer Place could pump new life into a city known more for eating out and shopping than for tourist attractions. "It would make Dallas a more sellable product," said Deborah Marine, director of communications for The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. "I don't really see it as competition. I see it as one more activity for families to choose from." Talk to McKoy about Summer Place – complete with a 500-foot-tall observation tower and a new roller coaster – and you can see the gleam in his eye and sly grin turning up the corners of his mouth. He clearly relishes the idea of creating competition. Sharon Parker, public relations manager for Six Flags, said the Arlington theme park offers more than 100 rides and attractions. McKoy's hope that Summer Place will chip away at Six Flags is not realistic, she said. "There is a reason why Six Flags is called the entertainment capital of Texas," she said. "We find it interesting and comical that the State Fair thinks offering a roller coaster and an observation tower and a few other unnamed attractions is even in the same ballpark." McKoy estimates that Summer Place will cost more than $20 million – all paid for by revenue from the annual State Fair, which spans 24 days in September and October at Fair Park. McKoy said he will not ask the city of Dallas for any public money to support the midway enhancements. No operating budget has been developed for the planned park, he said. McKoy and his staff have requested an extension on filing a 2008 income tax return for the State Fair, which is tax-exempt. So the fair's most recent financial information is not publicly available. The fair's 2007 return shows $11,361,868 in savings and cash investments. A good financial year for the fair this fall could yield another $5 million, McKoy said. Good years in 2010 and 2011 could set the stage for a Summer Place opening in May 2012, he said.
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