The spinning rides and arcade games that have brought crowds to the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair since Dwight Eisenhower was president moved a step closer this week to starting a new era in 2025 at a Westside regional park.

Before those wheels go into motion, however, the federal government still must give its blessing to allow the fair association’s activities on land the city received from the U.S. Navy after the closure of Cecil Field.

Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday set the stage for finalizing the city’s application to the National Park Service by approving a lease of 82 acres of city-owned land to the fair association. The association in turn intends to sell its 17-acre site in the sports complex to Jacksonville Jaguar owner Shad Khan and use the sales proceeds to build a new fairgrounds in tandem with the city.

Read the rest of this story at the Florida Times-Union, a Jacksonville Today news partner.