Granite Park to return to city of Fresno. ‘You’re trying to steal land’
The Granite Park Sports Complex is returning to the city of Fresno after 10 years of a tumultuous lease with a nonprofit.
Fresno County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Skiles on Friday let stand his interpretation that the Central Valley Community Sports Foundation was in breach of its lease with the city, and denied CVCSF’s motion for a pause in the case.
CVCSF has leased the park from the city since 2015, along with a $150,000 city subsidy. The city and the nonprofit have long been at odds, with the city claiming a breach of the lease and fighting to evict, saying CVCSF failed to share proceeds from a digital billboard and failed to make required upgrades to the park.
Skiles found that the harm to CVCSF and its lender LandValue Management LLC is “not irreparable,” and damages could be monetized if an appeals court reverses his decision. The parties mutually agreed to skip a trial until an appeals court makes a decision.
Terance Frazier, CVCSF president, said he was disappointed in the ruling, calling it unfair.
“This is not just about Granite Park. This is about giving people the opportunity, our kids an opportunity, that don’t normally get the opportunity, to play sports,” Frazier said after the hearing. “The city talked about they’re going to do it (offer sports programming) at Granite Park? They haven’t done it at none of their parks.”
The city will resume control of the Granite Park Sports Complex, located on Cedar Avenue south of Ahslan. City Manager Georgeanne White said the city, CVCSF and the court are working out final details for the handoff.
“We want it to be as orderly as possible to make sure that the public and the users of the park are not impacted in any way,” White told The Fresno Bee after the hearing.
Paul Armo, CVCSF attorney, said he will file a motion with the 5th District Court of Appeal, which will include another motion to stay the park changeover. He anticipates that a final determination on who runs the park in the interim will be made in a few weeks.
White sat at the plaintiff’s table, along with City Attorney Andrew Janz and Mandy Jeffcoach, the attorney representing the city.
Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, attended the hearing in support of her husband, Frazier.
Now what happens?
White said that the city will now bring the park up to safety standards. The city also plans to open the park for anyone to use, not just fields reserved for tournaments. The city will honor all existing reservations.
“We do plan to have the park open during times for the public to just be able to go and use it as a walking trail or kick the soccer ball around, and I think that is going to be a huge asset for the public as well,” White said.
During budget hearings, the city said it set aside $847,900 to operate the park for the next fiscal year. Frazier said it takes at least $1.5 million yearly.
“When has the city said anything that was actually correct?” Frazier said. “It’s a joke.”
White said she doubted Frazier’s accounting.
“It’s really difficult for us to take his word, because the finances have been very difficult to interpret,” White said.
Unlike other parks, White said, Granite Park offers revenue streams, such as tournament fees and billboard revenues. The city has no mechanism to charge spectator entry fees, a current practice at the park. White said a change to the master fee schedule could still happen.
The city engaged in a lease with CVCSF to replace a failed park and development more than a decade ago. Things went sour when the nonprofit asked the city to double its subsidy. The city responded with an audit that found financial irregularities.
“The operator refused to follow the lease terms. I don’t understand it. Every time there was a violation of the lease, and we would be in contact asking them to remedy the situation, they would just ignore us. So, as the landlord and the property owner, to have a tenant that just operated with impunity ... that can’t happen when an asset is owned by the city,” White said.
White was pessimistic that the city would hold a July 4th event — a Granite Park tradition — because “it is too short of a timeline.”
Frazier lays heavy accusations
Frazier said the city is treating him unfairly and differently than other entities. He said he’s lost at least $30 million because the city interfered in his other business operations.
“They ruined my reputation. They lied on me for 10 years. Every job that I try to do outside of Granite Park, they went out there, and they attacked it,” Frazier said.
He filed a civil rights lawsuit in 2020 in the aftermath of the audit. The case is ongoing in federal court.
Frazier said the city shut down development projects, denied his attempts to purchase land and a city parking garage that was once up for sale.
“What you’re trying to do is you’re trying to steal land, that’s what you’re trying to do. That’s that’s the American way, correct?” Frazier said, making a comparison to the Tulsa, Oklahoma “Black Wall Street” massacre of the 1920s.
White said the federal lawsuit will sort out the various claims.
“We dispute them and don’t believe that’s accurate or true. But that will ultimately all come through the federal lawsuit,” White said.
Frazier also compared his subsidy to taxpayer funds for city-owned Chukchansi Park — home of the minor league baseball Fresno Grizzlies.
White called Granite Park and Chukchansi Park “apples and oranges.” She said the Grizzlies’ lease has been modified by the city council. CVCSF’s lease was not.
Will the city sell?
During budget hearings, Councilmember Annalisa Perea broached the idea of selling the land. White said they “are not focused on that right now.”
White did not have an appraisal price for the land, saying that information is part of the federal lawsuit.
There is no plan in the near future to hire another operator of the park. The city did say it will hire third-party vendors to help with concessions and baseball field maintenance. She kept the door open for current employees to remain.
This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 1:10 PM.
