A proposal to build a data center at the Earl Warren Showgrounds has drawn the attention of Santa Barbara residents concerned about the site’s future.

A company called Global Stack has proposed a 100-year agreement with the showgrounds that would allow it to build and maintain infrastructure on the property, including a micro data center.

The Earl Warren Showgrounds Board of Directors will hear about the proposal at its next meeting, scheduled for Oct. 29. The item was listed as part of Chief Executive Officer Ben Sprague’s report for the Oct. 8 meeting, but it was not discussed.

In public comment letters, some residents opposed the proposal over environmental concerns and fears that the industry is not sustainable.

“Aside from the well-publicized environmental impacts of data centers, the economic financials for data centers and AI are not sound and based on a lot of debt, which is headed for a massive margin squeeze now that lenders are getting nervous, demanding higher interest rates, and concerned that revenues will not cover expenses,” said Mike Glick, a Goleta resident. “This whole thing reminds me of the dot-com bubble in 1999.”

Other residents expressed frustration that they were not aware of the proposal.

“I’m surprised and disgusted that this is being considered in our city. Cities, states and counties are placing moratoriums on these monstrosities across the country (for good reason) and now we need to fight this in our backyard??” wrote Ali Brieske.

Sprague told Noozhawk he was asked to a meeting with a representative from Global Stack by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which governs the state’s fairgrounds.

During the meeting with the company, he was presented with a proposal that was described as a potential revenue source for the showgrounds.

Sprague said that he heard the proposal but did not agree to anything.

California has a network of public fairgrounds, also known as District Agricultural Associations, including the 34-acre Earl Warren Showgrounds at 3400 Calle Real in Santa Barbara.

“Ultimately I decided not to pursue an (memorandum of understanding) and…just inform the board about it because of the other DAAs’ participation or potential participation,” Sprague said. “And that’s really it.”

Global Stack USA, which launched in March 2026, is a Santa Ana-based infrastructure development company. According to the company’s website, its mission is to design and build modern infrastructure at fairgrounds across the state including micro data centers, parking structures and landing areas for aircraft.

California’s fairgrounds were selected by the company because they are public and distributed evenly throughout the state, according to its website.

Global Stack said the proposed data centers would be the size of a standard shipping container and would not be connected to a local water supply.

The company says its infrastructure would be used to support air travel and communications during normal operations and would be able to act as a base during an emergency.

The Earl Warren Showgrounds is currently used as an evacuation shelter and command center during some major emergency incidents, including wildfires.

In return for allowing the use of public fairground land to build its infrastructure, Global Stack says it would generate consistent revenue. It estimates that its business model of building across the state would create tens of thousands of jobs.

Sprague said he will share the proposal with the Board of Directors during its next meeting on Oct. 29.

Regarding the response from the community, Sprague says he is glad that residents are concerned about protecting the fairgrounds and care about what is built there.

Moving forward, Sprague said he hopes that residents continue to weigh in on the future of Earl Warren Showgrounds and what it looks like.

The showgrounds hosts events like the Santa Barbara County Fair & Expo, the rodeo, equestrian events, concerts and swap meets. And Sprague says it can do even more.

He said the Board of Directors’ goal is to keep helping the showgrounds grow and reflect the changing Santa Barbara community. His hope is that the site grows into a multi-use community event center.

Sprague said the showgrounds is working on a new master plan that aims to revitalize the site by adding sports fields, additional green space, updated equestrian facilities, and flexible community spaces.

The area would still support emergency operations when needed.

Sprague said that even though the organization does a lot now, it could do much more for the community.

“I hope that as people focus on what could happen here, they also engage in what should happen here,” Sprague said.

“We’ve been having that conversation for more than 10 years, and we’re now getting closer to a plan that honors Earl Warren’s traditions while creating more ways for the broader community to use and benefit from the property. I’m glad people care, and we want the voices of the entire community as we move this space forward.”

The next Board of Directors meeting for the Earl Warren Showgrounds will be held on Oct. 29 at 12:30 p.m. The agenda includes an item called “Global Stack USA – Informational Report Regarding Unsolicited Outreach.”

The meeting will be held at the showgrounds at 3400 Calle Real. The agenda and related materials are available on the Earl Warren Showgrounds website.