The equestrian center at the county fairgrounds is at-risk of closing if a new operator isn’t found to take over the facility next year.
The equestrian center, currently run by the OC Fair & Events Center, makes revenue through borders and trainers who rent spaces at the facility. Michele Richards, general manager and CEO at the OC Fair & Events Center, said the expenses to run the equestrian facility far outweigh the revenue it brings in.
In October, the equestrian center made $117,422 in revenue, but cost the fairgrounds $225,176 in expenses.
A request for proposals to operate and maintain the facility is expected to be posted sometime in December to attract potential bidders. An operator would be responsible for maintaining the equestrian center grounds, offices and taking care of the horses.
If an independent operator for the center is not found, staff would notify equestrian center users of the facility closing by March 31, officials said.
Even if all of the stalls are full and the center is at 100% capacity, “our modeling shows that the organization would lose almost a quarter of a million (dollars) a year,” Richards said, adding that the stalls are currently at 63% of capacity. “And so the board just simply can’t ignore that anymore. It doesn’t make business sense for us to keep a facility open that is costing the people of the state of California so much money.”
Gibran Stout, who runs the OC Vaulting nonprofit out of the equestrian center, said closing the facility would go against the board’s mission of serving the community and preserving the county’s agricultural heritage.
“It’s critical because there’s no other space for this. There are five stables including this one with less than 800 stalls for public boarding, and there’s nowhere else to go other than out of the county,” Stout said. “There’s so much critical programming that will just be lost forever. It’s supposed to be an agricultural district. And if you look at their mission and their purpose, the equestrian center is the only thing on the entire property that checks all those boxes.”
“It’s a public property and their job is to provide recreational facilities, so it doesn’t have to make money any more than a library or a park or a public pool,” she said. “None of those things make money. If it’s a public asset, it doesn’t need it.”
The OC Fair & Events Center will be undergoing $229 million updates in an eight-phase plan approved earlier this year that will include a new barn, greenhouse and administrative office expansions. The plan does not include upgrades to the equestrian center.
“They are spending $30 million on an office building. Millions of dollars are being spent on dressing rooms and office space and everything else in the property,” Stout said, arguing the equestrian center should be included in plans.
If the equestrian center is closed, Richards said there is no plan for what would use that space. However, she pointed to phase seven of the fairground’s master plan when older barns, offices and storage sheds elsewhere on the fairgrounds are set to be demolished and replaced with an agriplex and livestock building that would serve as an educational place for livestock shows.
“It’s several years down the line, but this property will always have livestock and agriculture related programming, because that’s our mission,” Richards said.
Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley wrote a letter to the OC Fair & Event Center’s Board of Directors calling for more investment in the equestrian center. Her district of the OC Board of Supervisors includes the fairgrounds.
“While I appreciate the board’s efforts to understand the possibilities of this facility, I fear this item is simply the latest effort to strip away a critical public amenity at the fairgrounds,” Foley said. “The equestrian center serves as an indispensable public amenity and bedrock feature of the history and culture of the OC fairgrounds.”
If there are no successful bidders, Richards said alternatives to the closing of the equestrian center have been discussed by the board.
