DEL MAR — The 22nd District Agricultural Association is preparing to launch a broad-reaching community engagement effort in 2025 regarding future land use at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
The master site planning effort, coined as Fairgrounds 2050, piggybacks off the 22nd DAA’s strategic planning process conducted over the past few years. Fairgrounds 2050 will lay out a land-use plan for upgrades and improvements to existing facilities and the addition of new facilities to support new program opportunities.
In September, the 22nd DAA, the state board managing the Fairgrounds, adopted 16 guiding principles for the master site planning process to help shape public discussion and set necessary parameters. These principles include environmental stewardship, community focus, accessibility, fiscal responsibility, and purposeful planning.
The Fairgrounds is working with communications firm Southwest Strategies to conduct public outreach over the next year. This will include presentations to all 18 cities in San Diego County and the county Board of Supervisors and a “regional listening tour” with town hall events throughout the county and at the Fairgrounds.
Southwest Strategies CEO Chris Wahl provided an update about the master site plan at the board’s Nov. 14 meeting, stating that “there is a lot of work to be done,” but that public input is a crucial first step.
“This 2025 year is going to be the year we really have the opportunity to get out and start talking about it more,” said Wahl. “We all agree that this process should be community input-driven, as opposed to any other perspective from a developer or whatnot, because this is such an incredible public asset.”
The Fairgrounds has formed several committees comprising 22nd DAA board members to guide the process. The district is also forming a technical advisory coalition that includes experts in traffic, water, water resources, and biological resources to develop a set of parameters for the project.
Board Member Don Mosier said rising sea levels will be a critical environmental factor in the master site planning process.
“This is a challenging site, particularly given the range of estimates for sea level rise, which vary tremendously from about two feet to six feet for 2050,” Mosier said. “I hope we can address those in our master plan and have some resiliency estimates when we get to the final master plan.”
The Fairgrounds will also begin outreach to the California Coastal Commission next year, as the final master site plan and environmental impact report will ultimately require approval from the state body.
As this outreach continues, Southwest Strategies will provide quarterly updates to the 22nd DAA board beginning in February. Under current timelines, the board plans to adopt a set of design objectives for the project at the end of 2025.
In 2026, the Fairgrounds plans to use the design objectives, public feedback, and technical advisory committee input to solicit development proposals through an international design competition.
“The timeline for the next year is pretty clear. After that, it gets a little bit less clear, but the more progress we make now, the more we can move forward in the future,” Wahl said.
One potential type of development that the Fairgrounds has been discussing for years is housing. Earlier this year, the 22nd DAA and the city of Del Mar entered into an exclusive negotiating rights agreement to explore developing 61 affordable housing units on Fairgrounds property to help Del Mar fulfill its state housing obligations.
However, these talks were paused in the summer due to the threat of a possible rail tunnel through the Fairgrounds property, as outlined in one of three rail realignment options proposed by the San Diego County Association of Governments.
Residents can find more information about the Fairgrounds 2050 process online at delmarfairgrounds.com/fairgrounds2050.
Budget
Fairgrounds CEO Carlene Moore said the district fell short of its revenue-raising goals for 2024, partially due to the unexpected $5.6 million repayment of a 2020 Paycheck Protection Program loan and the cancellation of planned events.
One was the cancellation of KAABOO around one month before its scheduled return, which cost the district around $3 million in revenue. According to Moore, the festival is expected to go forward in 2025, with the Fairgrounds charging a $50,000 non-refundable deposit.
In 2025, the Fairgrounds forecasts just under $90.5 million in gross revenues, with around $53 million coming from the 2025 San Diego County Fair and $89.6 million in expenditures, not including capital projects.
This leaves around $1.2 million in actual cash flow after operations, payroll and debt service. Fairgrounds currently pays around $5.2 million annually in principal and interest on bond debt obligations, projected to be paid off entirely in 2040.
By the end of 2024, the district will have spent $4.8 million on capital improvement needs and will face a $5.8 million capital expenditure budget for 2025.
A significant portion of funding for next year’s improvements — around $3 million — is expected to come from net revenues from 2024 that will be available in the coming months. According to a staff report, if these funds do not materialize, the district will likely have to draw from its reserves.
The Sound, the Fairgrounds’ music venue operated by Belly Up Entertainment, will have put on 54 of its 80 forecasted shows for 2024. However, Moore said the shows themselves have been well-attended and elicited more revenue than expected, and the venue is continuing to grow in popularity.
“While we will not achieve the total number of shows for 2024, the success of the shows are more on par than what were anticipated,” Moore said.
In 2025, The Sound is planning to put on 75 shows.
