NORTHAMPTON - Surrounded by antique farm equipment and dodging leaks from the ceiling, local officials huddled in a cold barn at the Three County Fairgrounds yesterday to accept a check from the federal government intended to pave the way for an improved fairgrounds.

With U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, standing by, David H. Tuttle of the U.S. Department of Agriculture handed over the $25,000 check to Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins. It will be added to $30,000 from the state Office of Travel and Tourism and $25,000 raised by fairgrounds members to finance a master plan for the facility.

Founded in 1818, the Three County Fairgrounds is among the oldest in the country and operates the longest continuously running agricultural fair at summer's end. Over the past decade, however, the site has increasingly shown its age. A few years ago, the Fairgrounds Association dropped pari-mutuel racing from the annual fair. Major customers such as the Morgan Horse Association have also expressed concern about the deteriorating condition of the stables.

General Manager Bruce R. Shallcross said yesterday the association has hired the Tennessee firm Bullock, Smith & Partners and local landscape architects Berkshire Designs to come up with a master plan for a bigger, better fairgrounds by the end of July.

Among the improvements will be an 80,000-square-foot exhibition hall, additional horse show rings, better parking and camper trailer facilities, and upgraded electrical and sound systems. The association also wants to winterize the arena and rehabilitate the aging grandstands.

Shallcross said the project could run from $8 million to $20 million, depending on the plan the association chooses. The public is invited to participate in the process, he said, noting the association will host the first in a series of public meetings in the fairground offices on May 7 at 7 p.m.

Tuttle credited Neal with working at the federal level to make Northampton eligible for the U.S.D.A. grant. The congressman called the fairgrounds a regional treasure and said the renovation will be a rebirth for the facility.

"On the way here, we were talking about how much money our constituents have lost here at the fairgrounds," Neal joked, referring to horse racing. "This is a small effort to return some of that funding."

Higgins cited a 2005 study that projected a revamped fairgrounds would pump $35 million a year into the local economy, including $1 million in sales tax revenues and $140,000 in hotel taxes.

"We're looking to just polish it up a little and see what the next 190 years will be like," she said.