Residents in Riverside County are raising the alarm on a small data center project being proposed for the state fairgrounds near Lake Perris. But officials who run the site say that the proposal is still in its early stages.
Last month, Global Stack USA, an infrastructure company based in Santa Ana, received approval from the 46th District Agricultural Association Board of Directors to explore building a small data center for emergency response at the Southern California Fair and Events Center at Lake Perris. The 46th District Agricultural Association Board oversees the fairgrounds.
According to Global Stack, “edge” data centers are the size of a shipping container or snack bar and have a lower environmental impact than larger data centers being built for Artificial Intelligence.
A spokesperson affiliated with Global Stack said in a statement the company aims to build similar data centers on fairgrounds across the state, and that Perris is being evaluated as part of that vision.
“Global Stack is bringing together public assets and private investment to strengthen fairgrounds that have long served as trusted community and emergency response hubs,” said Global Stack CEO Dan Kang in a statement, "while creating sustainable revenue to support them for the long term.”
Russell Vandenberg, the SoCal Fair and Events Center CEO, told KVCR that no construction for a data center has been approved.
“The process began about four months ago through the board,” said Vandenberg. “Ultimately, the board said, ‘OK, you have our attention, you have our interest. We now want Global Stack to go do their due diligence and check with all the regulatory agencies.”
Vandenberg also said that the data center won’t be a major component of Global Stack’s project. He said an expanded parking lot and helipad could have economic benefits to the fairgrounds.
"Bring us a proposal, and then we would weigh what’s in the best interest of the fairgrounds long term," said Vandenberg.
Residents who live nearby say they didn’t know about Global Stack’s intentions to bring a data center to the fairgrounds. Many are concerned about the impact of data centers on water and energy use. More than a 100 people gathered at the District Agricultural Association board’s meeting earlier this week. Some of those same residents last week raised concerns about the Global Stack MOU to the Perris Planning Commission, though officials have said they have no jurisdiction over the fairgrounds.
“Your mission is agriculture, entertainment, education, and recreation for Riverside County,” said resident Mark Kakulas. “A private data center and a hell of a port on a 100-year deal is not part of that.”
Vandenberg said Global Stack representatives will have to present their plans, get approval from the fairgrounds board and get input from the public.
“So basically, we haven’t approved it. We haven’t said, ‘OK break ground…we’re going to give you this land.' It’s a far cry from that,” said Vandenberg. “I know there's a lot of feedback community-wise, and so we're listening.”
