UPDATE: Board urges sale of fairgrounds

The Orange County Fair Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution supporting the sale of the fairgrounds Wednesday afternoon.

A rare special meeting was held during the fair, right across the street from the fairgrounds, at Costa Mesa’s City Hall. Board member David Ellis, who along with member Kristina Dodge researched and drafted the resolution, said that it became an urgent matter because he heard the state would likely pass a budget in the next few days.

The resolution supports Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal earlier this year to sell the fairgrounds to help the state pay its bills as it faces its biggest deficit in history.

Dodge and Ellis, along with the other members of the board, are all appointed by the governor.

The fairgrounds could be worth up to $180 million, according to state estimates, but many say that the land could only generate that much money if used for more lucrative purposes like commercial and residential development, not for a fair.

Beazley said he doesn’t know yet how the fair’s operations would change under private control and hasn’t yet formed an opinion about which would be preferable.

“Whatever control the fair is under hasn’t hampered the presentation of the fair in the past,” Beazley said.