ST. LOUIS (AP) - Fair St. Louis won't be on the grounds of the Gateway Arch in 2014, and one possible alternative is Forest Park.
A $380 million renovation of the Arch area will be in full swing next July, forcing the popular Fourth of July event to move elsewhere, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported (http://bit.ly/1aYEm7E ). Fair St. Louis is July 4-6.
St. Louis parks director Gary Bess said Thursday that he is planning for the fair to be at Forest Park. Officials with Mayor Francis Slay's office would not confirm the move.
Bess says Art Hill would be the central point for the fair.
Fair St. Louis spokeswoman Meg Shuff said organizers are evaluating alternatives. A formal announcement is expected in October.
"It's going to be centered around the Grand Basin; Art Hill will be the epicenter," Bess said. "The fireworks, the air show, the main-stage concert acts will be here in the park."
"The 2014 version of Fair St. Louis is unlike any other in fair history, at a location unlike any other before," Slay's chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, said.
Construction plans call for substantial portions of the roads near the Arch to be under construction from next April through July 2015. Portions of Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard, the riverfront road that runs near the Arch, will be closed from November through September 2015.
Planners are looking into operating shuttles from Washington University and St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, as well as a shuttle inside the park, Bess said.
The fair would probably not be able to use the Muny outdoor theater for concerts, Muny spokeswoman Laura Peters said. A show will open July 7, so full rehearsals will be July 5-6.