1 week Ago By Todd R. Hansen
VALLEJO — Supervisor Monica Brown and then-Supervisor Skip Thomson, six years ago, were ready to pull the plug on the Solano County Fair Association board. After a half-year reprieve, in August 2020, the Board of Supervisors were ringing the death knell, again. However, now it is the $12 million-plus Solano360 Vision project for which the bell tolls, and so most of the 149 acres of the Solano County Fairgrounds is open for business with the Fair Board calling the shots.
But first, there were some changes that needed to be made. The business of running the fairgrounds had to be exactly that, a business. Restructuring the operational and financial models began under the prior fairgrounds executive director and chief executive officer, Mike Ioakimedes, and has continued under Tom Keaney, who arrived on scene on March 1, 2024, with the 75th anniversary of the Solano County Fair just three months away.
That chaos having calmed, the rewards for the transitional work are coming to the forefront. Some personnel changes have been made – including the retirement of General Manager Stephen Hales this past fall, and the hiring of Lucia Quinonez as the new special event promoter. "She's taking over special events and I'm taking over the business portion," Keaney said, a division of Hales' job description.
The change is saving the fairgrounds $150,000 in salary and benefits. Keaney also entered into an agreement with PG&E, by which the utility has put in $250,000 worth of lights. The program allows the fairgrounds to pay off the cost through its utility savings, and in time, will save $77,000 a year.
The extra lighting also allows the fairgrounds to be open for more business at night. Four-thousand people attended a Mexican rodeo on April 6, and contracts with three national entertainment organizations are being negotiated, with as many as 15,000 expected to attend each event. The fairgrounds will cash in on the rental fees, the parking – either by direct visitors entering the gate or by the promoter paying a flat fee – as well as controlling the bar business.
Sometimes, Keaney said, the fairgrounds also will get a share of the food business. Keaney announced in a recent interview that Live Nation is one of those groups, and another group is Insomniac, an electronic music promotion group. The third group is not yet ready to be announced, he said.
All but six weekends of 2025 have been booked with some kind of activity this year. As of the first quarter of 2025, the fairgrounds is 27% above the bottomline. And if all goes as planned in 2025, the Solano County Fair Association will be .
.. "in the black," Keaney said.
That includes operating the County Fair in June. The cost to put on the fair will be an estimated $956,000. It is likely to generate just $490,000 in revenue.
"For every fair in the state, the fair loses money. It's our gift to the community," Keaney said. To that end, the fair will see the return of a two-day destruction derby and other popular attractions from yesteryear, with a special Friday night event being planned.
Familiar fairgrounds activities like gun shows – possibly expanding to five or six – a gem show, spa show, and the Woofstock dog show are part of the plan. The popular customized truck show will be back in August, and of course, the music artist, LaRussell, has become a grounds mainstay. "So now we have to pivot so we can do two events on the same weekend," Keaney said.
"And we are looking at a new strategy plan on how we can use the full acreage." Keaney said he would like to bring back a rodeo, and of all the suggestions he has heard, equestrian events are high on the list. Keaney said he also is in discussions with the Solano County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce about possibly bringing a state convention to the fairgrounds.
Part of those discussions will include the Courtyard and other nearby hotels. All events carry the hope that people who come to the fairgrounds will spill out into Vallejo to boost the city economy, but a large convention brings a unique opportunity. The other piece to the new business plan is fixing up the facilities.
The fairgrounds did an assessment and the consultant put a complete rehabilitation at $30 million. Obviously that is not possible right now, so Keaney and his team are focusing on the performance arena and other priority facilities. One facility change that is saving money is an electric gate, which saves on manned security costs.
And the spirit of Solano360 may not be entirely dead. Keaney said he has talked to firms about bringing a film studio to the site, something that has been a part of the Solano360 project. Similar amenities are not out of the realm of possibilities.
Keaney said the "door is open" to all possibilities..
