The Kansas State Fair Board has voted to keep the dirt racetrack at the state fairgrounds in Hutchinson, reversing an earlier decision to demolish the track.

At the board’s meeting Tuesday, it was decided to go into a one-year agreement with Mel Hambleton Ford Racing to operate the racetrack.   An official agreement will be drafted to include fees based on attendance at race events.  The board plans to have a special meeting to consider the agreement when it is completed.

The board voted in November to demolish the track and put the property to other uses, but that drew protests from the community and from race fans.  The board later created a committee to consider two proposals for the racetrack, and the committee recommended the Hambleton bid.