Proposed Move of Valley Fair Discussed

San Fernando Valley Fair officials met with community leaders Friday to hear their views on a proposal to relocate the fair to the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center.

Members of the fair’s board of directors said they want to move the annual four-day event from the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank to Hansen Dam because it is one of the last remaining rural areas in the San Fernando Valley.

They also said the Hansen Dam site could accommodate future growth of the fair because more land is available for parking, agricultural exhibitors and equestrian events.

“This is an opportunity for the community to exhibit its traditional and modern culture and its rural and modern environment,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who joined the board for the two-hour session.

“This is an opportunity to bring the Valley together and to define ourselves.”

Fair officials are expected to make a final decision on whether to relocate the fair to Hansen Dam by spring, board Chairman Robert Wilcox said.

The board has also looked at Pierce College and sites in the Santa Clarita Valley as potential sites, according to fair manager Dale Coons. Hansen Dam, however, is highly favored by the board, which could move the fair to the site as early as 2000.

The Hansen Dam Equestrian Center is owned by Eddie Milligan, who holds a 30-year lease with the city of Los Angeles. Under terms of the lease agreement, the equestrian center can sublease to the fair, Patrick Milligan, the owner’s son, said.

About 15 speakers from various northeast Valley community groups and representatives of elective officials told the board they favored the relocation because the Hansen Dam site would stimulate the local economy, offer educational opportunities for children and provide additional recreational activities.

“This community has begged for services since the 1984 Olympics,” said LeRoy Chase, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of the San Fernando Valley and a commissioner with the city Recreation and Parks Department. “This is an opportunity to enhance the area. This way, all parts of the Valley will have something of beauty to give back to the people of the city and county.”