NAPA VALLEY, CA — Nearly 100 residents packed a Calistoga meeting to challenge a proposal to bring a data center, a multi-story parking garage, and a helicopter vertiport to the city's historic fairgrounds, while developers argued the project could generate billions of dollars in investment and long-term revenue.
Residents packed a standing-room-only meeting Thursday night to push back against a developer's proposal to transform Calistoga's historic fairgrounds with a data center.
The nearly two-hour Fairgrounds Advisory Committee meeting drew close to 100 people, exceeding the committee's typical attendance, as Global Stack LLC President Nicholas Kovacevich unveiled what he described as a model that could revitalize not only Calistoga's 70-acre fairgrounds but more than 70 fairgrounds across California.
The audience reacted almost immediately. Hissing broke out when the presentation turned to a proposed data center. During public comment, residents repeatedly described the concept as "grotesque," a "nightmare," and "monstrous," while others argued the project simply did not belong in a town of about 5,200 people, Bay City News reported.
"We're in exploration mode," Kovacevich said, acknowledging he was surprised by the backlash. He added that he did not "know the fairgrounds intimately," Bay City News reported.
Global Stack pitched what it called a public-private partnership built around a 100-year land-use and service agreement that would allow the city to retain ownership of the fairgrounds while attracting private investment.
Under the proposal, the company would invest more than $20 million in emergency services infrastructure and more than $6 billion in data infrastructure while modernizing the site without taxpayer funding. The fairgrounds would remain publicly owned, according to the presentation, while generating new revenue through profit-sharing agreements.
Global Stack's plan would include a multi-story parking garage adding between 500 and 1,500 parking spaces, with the completed garage transferred to the fairgrounds at no cost. The company said all parking revenue would go directly to the fairgrounds. The proposal also included a "sovereign-edge" data center.
Company projections estimated the data center could generate approximately $2.24 billion in annual revenue at full operation, create roughly 7,000 direct jobs and 21,000 indirect jobs, produce about $94 million annually for the fairgrounds through a 10% share of net profits, and contribute an estimated $7.9 billion in infrastructure value and revenue sharing over 135 years.
The proposal did not explain how those projections would be achieved or how impacts on local resources would be mitigated.
Global Stack is a California infrastructure development company, organized as a California LLC on March 2, with a principal address in Santa Ana. Rather than stand-alone server farms at the fairgrounds, the company also wants to include emergency operations, evacuation centers, and parking structures.
A separate emergency services component, called PanGalactica, projected annual payments of more than $2.28 million to the fairgrounds through revenue sharing and emergency services funding.
Kovacevich described the concept as creating "perpetual wins" for communities by combining emergency response facilities, artificial intelligence infrastructure, parking improvements, and new funding for aging fairgrounds.
"We're excited about creating a circular economy" in California, Kovacevich said, Bay City News reported.
Global Stack is pursuing similar redevelopment concepts at more than 70 fairgrounds throughout California. Kovacevich said the company had so far only presented proposals at San Francisco's Cow Palace and the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo.
The company described fairgrounds serving multiple roles, including festivals and community events, as well as wildfire evacuations and disaster response centers, with small data centers providing immediate power if the electrical grid fails.
Thursday's meeting, which usually lasts about 30 minutes, stretched to nearly two hours as residents debated what they want Calistoga's historic fairgrounds to become — and what they do not want it to become.
Residents questioned whether those benefits justified the scale of development.
"I think it's outrageous that the fair board would even consider something like this," resident Vicki Edwards wrote in comments submitted to the committee.
"The plans being presented to the fair board meeting tonight are not what I had in mind when I supported the city's plan to buy the fairgrounds," Edwards said.
Other speakers warned that a data center could increase demands on Calistoga's limited water supply, strain the electrical grid, generate additional pollution, and permanently alter the character of the community.
Hilary Simone urged the committee to reject the proposal, saying the project conflicted with the vision residents had already expressed for the site.
She said a 1,000-car parking structure, data center, and heliport would be inconsistent with Calistoga's character and values while creating significant environmental impacts.
"I urge you to focus on protecting the character of our community and also listen to the wishes of its residents. Please tell Global Stack LLC to go away!" Simone said.
Another resident wrote that there is a lot of conversation and concern in the community about this presentation by Global Stack. "What they’re presenting does not align with Calistoga’s ‘small town character’ in any way and many in the community are shocked that it’s on the agenda."
In other letters, comments called the proposal "overblown," "inappropriate," and "tone-deaf."
Committee members repeatedly emphasized that Thursday's presentation was informational only and that no proposal was under consideration for approval.
"Eventually, we will hire master plan consultants," Vice Chair Karen Jensen said, Bay City News reported.
Jensen said the presentation represented only one of many ideas the committee plans to evaluate as it develops a long-term revitalization strategy.
The city purchased the nearly 100-year-old fairgrounds from Napa County in 2024 after decades of decline, the Bay City News reported.
The Napa County Fair ended its 80-year run in 2012, and the property officially closed in 2018, leaving only an RV park in operation while much of the grounds fell into disrepair.
In 2025, Calistoga created the five-member Fairgrounds Advisory Committee to help develop a master plan for the future of the property, according to Bay City News.
A city survey conducted in 2025 found residents generally agreed the fairgrounds needed investment. Respondents supported uses such as an evacuation center and speedway, while also emphasizing that the property should preserve open space and continue to foster community gathering, Bay City News reported.
Following the meeting, Kovacevich said California's aging fairgrounds need sustainable funding sources.
"We figured out a business idea that helps fund them," Kovacevich said, Bay City News reported.
Former Planning Commissioner Douglas Allan said the proposal succeeded in one important respect by drawing residents into a conversation that had struggled to gain momentum for years.
"I don't know if it was intended to be a Trojan horse, but it had that effect," Allan said, Bay City News reported.
Still, Allan said meaningful decisions should wait until the city completes a master plan for the fairgrounds.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 Bay City News, Inc.
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