Attendance Figures Leave Fair Officials Feeling Like a Million

One day--Sunday--brought in 88,587 people, which is almost twice the capacity of San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Del Mar Fair officials were marveling Wednesday over that record while celebrating what a spokeswoman called “the big one”--record attendance of 1,076,982 for all 19 days.

“We had 992,238 last year,” said Shawn Riley, “and that’s the most we’d had prior to that time. We’re thrilled with the turnout--now we can say we finally made it to the magic million.”

Weather, Growth Thanked

Riley credited the million-plus to a combination of sublime weather and “the phenomenal growth of San Diego County.” The magic million saw record numbers of people taking part in the fair’s off-track betting and left local entrepreneurs thrilled with thousands of dollars in sales in everything from hot tubs to salt-water taffy.

Some critics cast a wary eye at the magic million, however, saying it is reason for caution.

Sgt. Karol Takeshta said 26 arrests were made during the 2 1/2 weeks, with several coming on the night of a performance by the rap group Stevie B. Takeshta said the fist fights after the show were “gang-related,” but most arrests were for drinking by minors.

“On the whole, I think it went pretty well,” Takeshta said. “Considering the numbers, which astonished us, I’d say it went real well. No major injuries were reported, and the fair did a pretty good job to make sure that most of the entertainment was oriented to families. I hope it goes as well next year.”

Gordon Clanton, a professor of sociology at San Diego State University and columnist for the Del Mar Blade-Citizen, has lived in the seaside town for years. He said many Del Mar residents continue to view the fair and “its expanding crush of visitors” warily.

“I’m like a lot of people around here,” Clanton said. “We don’t come out a lot during the fair. A lot of people in Del Mar feel ambivalent about the numbers, the growth. . . . Del Mar gets a substantial amount of money from the fair, but, on the other hand, it costs Del Mar a lot, and, while it costs everyone something, it profits only a few. So it’s really a mixed bag.”

Traffic Bottleneck

Clanton said residents resent the noise and traffic on Interstate 5 near the Via de la Valle exit. He knows of one woman whose home is accessible only by Jimmy Durante Boulevard, the main road leading into the fairgrounds off Via de la Valle.

“So you can imagine how she feels about it,” he said. “It’s quite something when you think of the equivalent of a sold-out stadium (Sunday’s attendance of 88,000-plus) having to enter and leave off of one freeway exit.”

Riley said fair officials considered the event that ended Tuesday “an overwhelming success, in every way” and cited high points, including concerts by Crystal Gayle, Sheena Easton and Hank Williams Jr.

Riley said “a definite low point” was the incident after the Stevie B. concert. “But, unlike the Sheriff’s Department, we don’t necessarily see what happened as being gang-related. We just hope it doesn’t happen again.”