Earl Warren Showgrounds Updates Community on Recent Issues

The latest Earl Warren board meeting started off with the hot topic of the hour: data centers. Board President Tory Milazzo led with a statement addressing the elephant in the room, reiterating what was announced in a press release last week. 

“We want to be absolutely clear: Earl Warren Showgrounds will not pursue, consider, or accommodate a data center on this property,” said Chair Milazzo. 

Earl Warren CEO Ben Sprague confirmed to an Independent reporter that there is no longer any communication with the company Global Stack U.S.A., which reached out to the showgrounds with a proposal to build shipping-container-sized data centers inside a parking structure with a helipad on the roof. 

With that settled, the meeting went on to approve rental rates, including the new $300 a month fee for the storage of Equine Evac emergency equipment. The original rental fee of $600 a month sparked outrage in Santa Barbara’s equestrian community, drawing dozens of public commenters to Warren Hall back in August.   

The majority of the meeting was dedicated to CEO Sprague’s reports on the financials of the showgrounds, including the Santa Barbara Rodeo, which had three sold out nights, bringing in $40,000 more than last year. 

“This is a fantastic event that the community likes, and frankly, we’re keen on doing more of them and investing in it,” Sprague said. 

But the announcements weren’t all peachy. Sprague informed the board that their biggest equestrian event, the Arabian Horse Show, will not be returning to the showgrounds next year and will cause the showground’s income to “swing by six figures,” next year. 

The organization that puts on the show, Region 2 Arabian Horse Association, is disbanding completely and will no longer be hosting their championship show that has filled Earl Warren’s barns since the 1960s.

To round out his report, Sprague addressed Earl Warren’s master plan, which was released in July 2025. It quickly became embroiled in controversy when members of the equine community noticed the erasure of eight of the 11 barns in plan sketches. This soon spiraled into a legal battle over an alleged lack of CEQA permitting, which resulted in a settlement and Earl Warren leadership retracting the proposed plan. 

CEO Sprague gave an update on the Master Plan in Thursday’s meeting and said that the showgrounds is working with the county and the city as they concurrently update their master plans. As for the current state of affairs, “we’re in the process of making sure the correct number of studies are done,” said Sprague. 

He also said at the beginning of next year, that the board plans to create a Master Plan subcommittee and to start hosting community meetings to get feedback and answer questions. The schedule for community meetings has yet to be determined, but Sprague said they could be a monthly occurrence. 

The goal of these meetings is to “make sure that everybody feels like their voice is being heard and can have questions answered,” said Sprague.