A new automotive flea market opened its doors officially in Bonfield on Thursday.
Lisa Groves is the president of the company that operates the flea market. She says the business will be more than just a flea market.
The site is the location of the former Bonfield race track. She says it’s already having an impact.
“We have 200 vending sites sold and 100 camp sites sold. As we continue to grow we’re hoping to see a bigger economic impact,” Groves told Rogers Radio.
See related: New investor looks to make changes at Bonfield race track
Groves says they’ll be at the Bonfield Event Park until Sunday and do have plans to resume drag racing but no earlier than mid August.
Bonfield Mayor Randy McLaren says having someone making a commitment like this to the event park is a boost for the local economy and this could attract more interest to the venue.
“They’ve got small concert ideas, racing ideas and the flea market itself should be a mainstay,” McLaren told Rogers Radio.
According to Groves, each vendor at the flea market must ensure 75 per cent of the items they are selling are auto related.
She believes Bonfield is an ideal location for an Automotive Flea Market.
"In the GTA it is tough to be an automotive collector because of a lack of living space," said Groves.
"In our automotive flea market world our demographic is more northern people. Down closer to Toronto and even Barrie as Barrie is growing, people have less and less space."
To compare, the Barrie Automotive Flea Market began back in 1971 and, according to their website, has been one of the top 100 events in Ontario the past five years, bringing in an economic impact of $6 million per event.
