Move the fair to Napa Pipe?

Developer open to idea, says carnival and demolition derby wouldn’t work

By KEVIN COURTNEY
Register Staff Writer

The 154-acre Napa Pipe property is not only big enough for several thousand housing units, an acre of stores, a 150-unit condo hotel and 140,000 square feet of industry, it could also accommodate the Napa Town and Country Fair.

Napa Pipe developer Keith Rogal told the fair board Tuesday of the availability of 19 acres at the 155-acre Napa Pipe site for a new fairgrounds.

The idea of moving Napa Valley Exposition to Napa Pipe has been bubbling up for years. This would free up the 32-acre downtown fairgrounds — the object of many noise and parking complaints — for private redevelopment.

Rogal’s presentation to the fair board was informational only. Fair directors weren’t actively promoting a new fairgrounds. Neither was Rogal.

“We’re here because a lot of people have been asking me over and over again ... would we be open to it,” Rogal said.

Most of the Napa Pipe site is part of a master plan proposal now undergoing environmental review by Napa County, but there are 19 acres yet to be planned, Rogal said.

This acreage is located at the south end of Napa Pipe, close to the Butler Bridge. The site would be buffered by light industrial buildings so that fair activities wouldn’t have a big impact on residents, Rogal said.

The current scope of fair activities — in particular, the carnival and the demolition derby — would likely not work at Napa Pipe, Rogal said. A fair that promoted agriculture, arts and crafts and the Junior Livestock auction would work, he said.

Rogal suggested that the fair had added a carnival with rides mostly for financial reasons. If a way could be found to run the summer fair without that revenue, or have the carnival at another location, that might work, he said.

Fair directors peppered Rogal with questions, but put off a full discussion of a fairgrounds relocation for another time.

Director Marjorie Preston said the carnival was an integral part of the summer fair and probably could not be split off.

“You need to figure what are the things really important to your mission,” Rogal said.

While thrill rides and the destruction derby seem like a poor fit, rodeos could work, Rogal said. Rodeos are “rooted in the West,” he said.

Noise-making activities could occur behind a berm, with the noise directed toward the river, away from residents, Rogal said.

Fair Director Eric Lehman asked if Rogal was proposing to make the 19 acres a gift to the state of California, which owns the current fairgrounds on Third Street and Silverado Trail.

Because the 19 acres have “considerable value,” Rogal said it would be up to the state to work out an equitable arrangement. A land swap could be considered, he said.

Director Dee Cuney worried that the fair, which is officially the 25th District Agricultural Association, would be trading one flood-prone property for another. The flood risk at Napa Pipe will be solved by elevating the property, Rogal said.

The site being talked about for a fairgrounds was proposed for light industry in the first Napa Pipe development plan. More recently, someone suggested using the property to generate solar electricity, he said.

“This is strictly an educational thing,” Expo CEO Joe Anderson said after the meeting. Fair directors aren’t likely to have a further discussion until autumn, he said.

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