The Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society must leave the current showgrounds on Creswick Road at the end of June to allow the site to be redeveloped as an athletics venue, and its new showgrounds home at Mount Rowan will not be ready in time.

Organisers became concerned late last year that, after construction delays at the Mount Rowan site that it would not be ready for the November 2024 Ballarat Show.

"We've been searching for a site since the end of September," said Ballarat Show Committee chair Kerri Gallagher.

"We have worked with Ballarat City Council very closely trying to look at different sites they put forward including Victoria Park, the old Ballarat saleyards, multiple different parks and recreation facilities and Ballarat Polocrosse Grounds.

"We looked at so many sites but unfortunately, if you are trying to set up a greenfields site to run such a large event, it also comes at a massive cost if we have to bring in all the amenities, fences and none of the options were viable."

Show organisers also tried to work with the state government and council to extend their tenure at Creswick Road through to November to allow the show to take place, but were knocked back.

"It's great for Ballarat that the state government believes they are shovel-ready in July to kick off development at the current Creswick Road site, which means we do have to depart in June straight after the Victorian Sheep Show has been held," Ms Gallagher said.

A new athletics track and centre, which would have acted as a warm-up facility for the Commonwealth Games athletics at Mars Stadium, will be developed on the current showgrounds site and is planned for completion in 2026.

Ms Gallagher said the cancellation of the 2024 show was "very disappointing" but was excited about the future at its new home from 2025.

Works on drainage, bridges and roads at the 16.2 hectare Mount Rowan site on the corner of the Midland Highway and Rose Hill Road began in May 2023, with roadworks to improve access to the showgrounds and construction of new pavilions getting under way in October.

In recent weeks the new large South Pavilion has been going up as part of the $20 million redevelopment project.

"We have been working out there for a long time and it's very exciting to see what's happening there now. In the past probably five or six months people finally have been able to see what's been getting planned in the background for so long," Ms Gallagher said.

The first large scale events are expected to be held in the first half of 2025.

Organisers are still looking at the possibility of running a cattle show and horse show at different locations this year, but nothing has been confirmed. The final event at the Creswick Road showgrounds will be the Victorian Sheep Show on June 23, 2024.

The BAPS had been hoping to keep the large equestrian centre on the Mount Rowan site operating during works on the new showgrounds but last month made the decision to close it to private and casual users until October.