Board mulls option to buy fairgrounds

The Orange County Fair Board is seriously considering creating its own nonprofit organization to buy the fairgrounds, Assemblymen Van Tran and Chuck DeVore said Tuesday.

Through conversations with board members in the last few weeks, Tran said, “the implied understanding is that a nonprofit is to be created to purchase the facility and maintain it.�

The Orange County Fairgrounds are state-owned property only on paper, state and fair officials said. The fairgrounds are self-sufficient, and the property does not receive state funds to operate. Last week, state legislators agreed to put the land up for sale to help balance the state budget.

“The city has a lot of say in how this piece of property will be developed after it’s sold,� Tran said. “I would be willing and able, if in the unlikely event and an unusual scenario where this piece of property is sold for another use, to carry legislation to prohibit that.�

The governor has estimated the fair could be sold for as much as $180 million.

Legislators have been saying for weeks now that they supported selling off the land only if it would continue with its current use.

DeVore said he did not fully support the idea behind selling the grounds until he spoke to fair board members and they mentioned creating their own nonprofit.

“That’s where I got comfortable with the idea,� he said.

Board member David Ellis said it’s too early to comment on the future of the fairgrounds.

“We’re kind of ahead of ourselves; the governor just signed the budget,� he said. “The community seems to be clear on one thing: It will remain a fairground.�

Costa Mesa has the fairgrounds zoned for “institution and recreation,� meaning anyone who wanted to develop anything but a fair or other recreational use there would have to ask for a change and deal with many more bureaucratic steps.

“I would not at all anticipate anyone making a bid for a significant change to the area,� DeVore said.

The state looked to cut ties with the fairgrounds in 1996, and the fair board discussed creating a nonprofit then too. At the time, Costa Mesa city officials suggested teaming up with the board for a sort of shared governance, where City Council members would get a voice in fair decisions.

For its part, the state’s Department of General Services, responsible for selling the fairgrounds, won’t commit to the property’s future.

“There will be stipulations in the contract that will allow us to be involved in what the use is for the property down the road,� said Eric Lamoureux, spokesman for the department. “Our intent was never to create a situation where there would no longer be a fair.�

When the state, however, sends out Requests for Proposals in two months to see who’s interested in buying the land, there will be no limits on what they can propose to develop there, he said.

“At the end of the day, the top priority is getting the highest value for the state of California.�