The park was forced to relinquish its position at the Square at the end of the 2006 season when the county did not renew its lease. The reason given for its removal was nonviable business plans, although it asserted that the 2006 season was the most successful one it had seen for years and expansion plans were underway. It paid $135,000 to the Expo in 2006 and a total of $12.5 million since 1951. The midway for the Tulsa State Fair was provided by Jerry Murphy, owner of Murphy Brothers Exposition. The carnival company was granted, in 2006, a 10-year, non-competitive contract to operate the Tulsa State Fair midway. The 2006 contract included the right of first refusal to expand Murphy's operation into the park's tract during the State Fair, if it was no longer a tenant. Following its closing, the 2007 Tulsa State Fair saw a 7% drop in attendance and a 29% hit on midway ticket sales. Some vendors told the fair board that the board's decision not to renew the park's lease was the reason for the drop, and there were some reports that the loss accounted for some of it. The Fairgrounds CEO said that they did not have any theories at the time to account for it. Attendance was up in the recession of 2008 from 2007, according to the Tulsa World.