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Visitors heading to the OC Fair’s opening day on Friday might be surprised to see costs going up even before they’re able to order a funnel cake or ride the Ferris wheel.
Costs to park at the OC Fair have increased for the second year in a row.
From 2017 to 2022, on-site parking was $10 per vehicle. In 2023, the cost of parking increased to $12 per vehicle.
This year, parking increased again to $15 per vehicle.
Admission rates are the same as last year, but those prices have also been trending upward over the last several years.
From 2017 to 2022, adult admission cost $12 on weekdays and $14 on weekends, while senior and children’s admission was $7 any day of the week.
In 2023, adult admission increased to $13 on weekdays and $15 on weekends. The price of senior and children’s admission also rose to $9 in 2023.
“Our admission increases have been few and far between over the last several years as our Board of Directors and staff believe that we should remain as affordable as possible to the community,” Terry Moore, communications director at the OC fair wrote in an email to Voice of OC.
For the first time, parking is more than a weekday general admission ticket to the fair.
Moore said they also offer an Every Day Passport for $60, giving visitors admission to every day of the fair without any restrictions.
“Our admission and parking rates are significantly lower than other area attractions and in comparison to other large fairs in Southern California,” Moore said. “The Board has only voted to increase admission rates and parking when it was absolutely necessary to meet our increasing expenses.”
The fair opens on July 19 and runs through August 18.
Fairgoers Are Paying More, While Officials Bank Away $67 Million
The OC Fair & Event Center’s reserves have soared upward over the past decade.
At the end of 2022, the center’s investment balance reflected over $67,000,000 in reserves, which has been steadily growing since 2009 — excluding a dip in 2020 during the pandemic.
Last year’s reserve balance also dropped by about $15 million.
The OC Fair & Event Center also operates the Pacific Amphitheater, Centennial Farm and Heroes Hall in addition to the annual county fair.
Controversy Over Public Giveback Programs
The fairgrounds property is also home to the OC Equestrian Center, one of the county’s few public horse boarding facilities for equestrians and trainers who offer riding lessons or equine therapy.
It’s also one of the few public giveback programs operated by the fairgrounds — along with Centennial Farms and Heroes Hall.
Yet this year, fairgrounds officials have aggressively pushed boarders to pay more — amid concerns that fair officials used the wrong kind of vendor to keep up stables, something that has fueled costs.
[Read: Housing Horses at the OC Equestrian Center is Getting More Expensive]
The controversy has intensified earlier this summer.
Half of the tenants boarding horses at the facility were met with 30-day notices last month as the equestrian center rolls out increased monthly rates.
[Read: OC Equestrian Center Rent Hikes Start This Week as Tension Mounts]
Boarders who previously paid $644 monthly for a 12-by-12-foot boarding stall for their horse will have to pay $979 per month in the new year.
The rent is set to increase in phases, which started June 15. It should reach the full amount by January 1, 2025.
The agreement also requires each boarder to pay a 50% deposit — based on one month’s rent — for each stall, equipment room and locker they’ll be using.
Gibran Stout, the founder of OC Vaulting, has operated her business out of the Equestrian Center for 11 years and would have to pay nearly $2000 in deposits.
Stout is one of many boarders with horses refusing to sign contracts as written by the OC Fair & Event Center.
“They’ll have to file 20 lawsuits to evict each one of them,” Gibran said in a phone interview late last month. “Why would you rather file lawsuits than simply meet and negotiate a fair contract?”
[Read: OC Fair Prices Increase As Officials Try Saving Money on Equestrian Center]
Fairgoers and Equestrians Pay More, Executives Get $25 Million HQ
Fairgrounds staff also have an eight-phase master plan to upgrade various buildings and add new structures that’s slated to roll out in phases from 2023 and 2033.
The entire plan is estimated to cost $229 million.
The first phase is already underway — a new administrative building at the fairgrounds property, which was approved by the board in January 2023, is currently under construction with an estimated cost of $25 million.
It’s slated to add over 15,000 feet of space for employee use, featuring meeting rooms and storage areas.
“The goal is to move employees from areas that will be impacted by future master site plan projects… and locate departments together in one location to foster team collaboration,” fairgrounds spokesperson Cassandra Scott wrote in an email to Voice of OC.
Other phases include new restrooms, the expansion of Centennial Farms, a new building to serve as an educational center, expansion of show buildings, upgrades to the Pacific Amphitheater, property upgrades and more.
The OC Fair Board is on a summer break and won’t meet again until Sept. 26.
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
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