Visitors to this year’s Great Minnesota Get-Together will see major grounds upgrades. That’s the good news. The bad news: Ticket prices are going up.

The Minnesota State Fair’s board of managers on Sunday approved $8 million for upgrades, including $4.6 million in capital work and $3.4 million in maintenance projects, according to a news release.

Improvements will include:

“The Veranda,” a new shopping and dining area occupying a portion of the Upper Grandstand’s interior retail space

A new elevator at the west side of the historic Grandstand

Major upgrades to the Swine Barn

Two new information booths

A new performance space outside the Education Building

Renovations to the interior of the Creative Activities Building

The grounds will undergo lots of other, miscellaneous upkeep projects. More than $3 million in improvements to the State Fair’s utilities and transportation infrastructure are on tap.

All projects are funded through State Fair operating revenue and grants from the State Fair Foundation. The fair is financially self-supporting and receives no government aid.

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Ex-slave who died in Stillwater in 1913 finally gets a headstone The State Fair board met as part of the annual joint conventions of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society, Minnesota Federation of County Fairs and Midwest Showmen’s Association. That gathering ran Thursday through Sunday in Bloomington.

The State Fair board also approved higher admission prices for the 2017 fair, which will run Aug. 24 through Labor Day, Sept. 4.

Admission for those ages 13 to 64 will be $14; children 5 to 12 and seniors 65 and older will be admitted for $11; kids younger than 5 are admitted free. Advance discount tickets for all ages are $11.

The approved admission fees represent a $1 increase in each category. State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer cited rising costs in fair production, guest services and facilities upkeep for the increase. The pricing is effective Feb. 1.