Tran applauds decision to reject Fair bids

Assemblyman Van Tran praised the Department of General Services on their decision to reject all of the bids for the Orange County Fairgrounds.

“I want to applaud the Department of General Services on making a wise decision and rejecting all bids submitted to purchase the Orange County Fairgrounds,” said Tran.  “Although the fairgrounds can certainly be used more efficiently, this sale was fraught with problems and not in the best interests of our community.”

In January, Assemblyman Tran joined with 10 other legislators in submitting a letter calling for an end to the sale of the fairgrounds.  The letter was co-signed by Assemblymembers Solorio, Harkey, Jones, Miller, Nava, Silva along with Senators Correa, Huff, and Wyland.

Assemblyman Tran took legislative action by introducing AB 1790 with Assemblyman Solario and 6 other co-authors to stop the sale of the fairgrounds, following the stalled AB 1590 by Assemblyman Solario and Tran.  AB 1790 is pending hearing in committee.

The sale was initially intended to benefit the state in financial gain, but at the same time, it was clear that the property would be offered for sale to local entities, allowing the property to continue to operate as a fair in a more efficient and profitable manner.

As the RFP and bidding process was completed in January, the top bid for the OC Fairgrounds was $56.5 million.  Previous estimates value this property at $96 to $180 million. 

Assemblyman Van Tran proudly serves the people of the 68th Assembly District, which includes portions of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Stanton, and Westminster.