Tulare fairgrounds tables Global Stack rental agreement after public opposition
The Tulare County Fair board tabled a rental agreement with Global Stack after significant public opposition regarding the proposed edge computing project, with many arguing it constitutes a data center. Opponents expressed concerns over the project's scale, electricity demands, and water usage. The board's decision reflects ongoing due diligence amidst differing descriptions of the project.
The Tulare County Fair board voted on July 21 to table a rental agreement with Global Stack, an infrastructure company based in Santa Ana, following nearly three hours of public opposition. The proposed agreement concerned Global Stack's plan to build "edge computing infrastructure" on the fairgrounds, which opponents in both Tulare and Kings counties argue constitutes a data center, a classification that has fueled much of the public's concern. The 24th District Agricultural Association, which oversees the fairgrounds, had previously delayed the item in April due to insufficient information.
Global Stack, co-founded by Daniel Kang and formed in March 2026, has been pitching "emergency-resilience systems" to California fairgrounds. While Global Stack describes its units as self-contained and drawing "ordinary commercial load levels" of power, a presentation circulated to fairground boards by the company in March 2026 called these projects "Sovereign Edge Data Centers" and cited 8-10MW distributed edge data centers, with an investment of "$20M+ for emergency services and $6B+ for data initiatives." Concerns were also raised regarding water usage, despite Global Stack stating its units use a closed-loop cooling system.
Both the Tulare County and Kings fairgrounds have signed nonbinding memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Global Stack, allowing for due diligence and feasibility work without committing to a project. Dena Rizzardo, CEO of both fairgrounds, clarified that no formal proposal is currently before either board. Board President Gary Castro emphasized the board's obligation to evaluate proposals thoroughly and conduct due diligence. The article also provides context by mentioning a larger 100-megawatt AI-optimized data center being developed by Ameresco at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Kings County for comparison.