Location major factor in use of the fairgrounds

Much emphasis has been placed recently upon the economic success of

the Orange County Fairgrounds in order to refute the notion that the

facility is underutilized.

All’s well and good. However, I have not seen any analysis of the

reasons for its financial well-being. In addition to the various

attractions that bring people to the fairgrounds, I contend that the

location of the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa is a major cause. Costa

Mesa is connected by a web of highways to the rest of the county.

People can get here. The surface streets of Harbor Boulevard and

old Newport along with Red Hill enable families from North County and

its interior to reach Costa Mesa. Check the history: Those streets

were named “Harbor” and “Newport” because they were intended to take

passengers to our area. Further, the San Diego Freeway with the Santa

Ana and Costa Mesa freeways confluence links Costa Mesa to other

parts of the county, plus Los Angeles County. The huge success of

South Coast Plaza can in part be explained by its location on the

same network. You can build it, but if people can’t get there, they

won’t come.

Users of the fairgrounds have direct access to its many

facilities. Examples are those who board horses there, those who want

to get to Centennial Farm and those who want to go to the Orange

County Marketplace or to the fair itself. The state of California

risks the fairgrounds’ success by relocating that venue. In short,

why try to “fix” what is not broken?

Further, a line of trees borders much of the fairgrounds. These

trees remind us that Orange County’s past consisted of orange groves.

How long would the state have to take to duplicate those trees

elsewhere? Maybe the trees would be relocated, too. What expense

would be entailed? Would they be destroyed, thus losing the

investment?

How many of the individuals who “studied” the fairgrounds’

performance know this region? They did not, and perhaps could not,

assess the situation fully.

HENRY PANIAN

Costa Mesa