Wichita ? It’s home to the biggest shows at the Kansas State Fair, but the outdoor grandstand is at least 70 years old and in need of repairs so expensive that officials are thinking about replacing it.

“That may be a question that has to be answered,” State Fair general manager Denny Stoecklein said.

The fair faces a bill of $2.6 million to make improvements that will make the grandstand sufficiently accessible to the disabled, according to a new report. It was commissioned after a ruling of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, which found that some of the fair’s facilities don’t comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

The cost of changes and improvements needed at the grandstand make up the bulk of that bill.

That’s left officials at the fair wondering if they should proceed with the repairs or replace the old structure with a new grandstand, an enclosed arena or some other option, Stoecklein said.

Before making a decision, the officials want to hear from the public; they’ll have open meetings this week in Hutchinson and Topeka. The court must also approve the plans.

“What the public has to say is very meaningful to us,” said Anthony Fadale, the state’s ADA coordinator. “If they would like us to head in a direction which we haven’t, we have to consider that.”

In October, the appeals court decided in favor of three fair patrons who use wheelchairs. They sued the fair board, the fair’s general manager and the state in 2001, arguing the fair did not comply with the ADA.

The plaintiffs, two of them Wichita residents, charged the grandstand did not provide adequate seating, which denied the disabled a view of the stage and caused them to be “climbed over, stepped on and bumped into by other attendees.”

After the ruling, the state hired a consultant to study the fairgrounds and point out problem areas. The firm’s 241-page report is the blueprint for how the state will solve the ADA problems, Fadale said.

The report is a “terrific next step” and confirms a lot of the allegations made in the lawsuit, said David Calvert, the Wichita lawyer who represents the three plaintiffs.

In addition to changes at the grandstand, the report recommends adding Braille signs, toilet paper dispensers, new concession counters and handicap-accessible appliances in the kitchen where contest participants prepare food.