{"id":218551,"date":"2026-03-13T20:05:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/218551\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T20:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:05:10","slug":"city-of-fresno-seeks-to-evict-granite-park-operator-for-third-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/218551\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Fresno Seeks to Evict Granite Park Operator For Third Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

The city of Fresno is returning to court for the third time to evict the nonprofit operator of the Granite Park Sports Complex.<\/p>\n

On Friday morning, the entrance banner was faded, but the sports fields remain well-maintained. A decade ago, the site was overrun with weeds and abandoned equipment.<\/p>\n

The Central Valley Community Sports Foundation has leased the complex on Cedar Avenue, between Dakota and Ashlan avenues, since December 2015. The park includes baseball and softball fields with outfield walls modeled after famous Major League Baseball stadiums, as well as soccer fields.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tensions between CVCSF President and CEO Terance Frazier, the city and nearby business neighbors have led to multiple lawsuits.<\/p>\n

The city filed an unlawful detainer \u2014 a formal eviction lawsuit \u2014 against CVCSF on Dec. 9, 2025, in Fresno County Superior Court. Judge Maria G. Diaz is scheduled to hear the city\u2019s motion for summary judgment Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The entrance banner at the Granite Park Sports Complex shows signs of wear and tear as seen on March 13, 2026. (GV Wire\/David Taub)
\nThird Attempt at Eviction<\/p>\n

In court filings, the city said the Central Valley Community Sports Foundation defaulted on its Granite Park Sports Complex lease by failing to pay rent and violating contract terms.<\/p>\n

The lease required the nonprofit to pay $62,500 annually, with a 2.75% yearly increase, while the city provided a $150,000 yearly subsidy. The parties have disputed who is responsible for maintenance, including plumbing, and what counts as \u201ccapital improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s first eviction attempt in January 2025 was dismissed after a judge found technical errors providing adequate notice, though the city was allowed to refile. A second filing in April 2025 was abandoned after CVCSF\u2019s lender intervened. Frazier said the city \u201cfolded.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

The current, third filing has produced thousands of pages of motions and filings from both sides. LandValue Management, which took over a $1.5 million financing deal, has again moved to intervene, and the motion is pending.<\/p>\n

Judge Maria G. Diaz rejected a CVCSF request to hold separate trials on the city\u2019s two complaints.<\/p>\n

The city says CVCSF owes $79,784 in rent and $218 per day since Sept. 12, 2025, more than $500,000 in utilities and $400,000 from digital billboard revenue. Other complaints include facility maintenance lapses, unapproved concession sales, and fire department citations.<\/p>\n

CVCSF maintains it owes no money, saying its $2 million investment in the park offsets the rent and keeps it \u201ccurrent in its rental obligation for several decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Left: One of the baseball\/softball fields at the Granite Park Sports Complex resembles San Francisco\u2019s Oracle Park, seen here on March 13, 2026. A digital billboard overlooks Highway 168 is seen in the background. Right: A baseball field resembling Chicago\u2019s Wrigley Field. (GV Wire\/David Taub)
\nHalf-Million to Maintain<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much we want to do, but we can\u2019t with this hanging over our heads.\u201d \u2014 Granite Park Sports Complex GM Chris Foxen<\/p>\n

The park\u2019s general manager, Chris Foxen, said maintenance costs about $500,000 a year and the facility employs 35 people, mostly part-time.<\/p>\n

Foxen said the city\u2019s lawsuits have hurt operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much we want to do, but we can\u2019t with this hanging over our heads,\u201d he said. He added that several sponsors withdrew support during the eviction battle.<\/p>\n

The city demanded removal of a large tent from the grounds which resulted in several citations.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit removed a large tent last September but received a 90-day permit in January. The tent is now back, providing shade for visitors at the snack bar. Granite Park also includes a bar.<\/p>\n

It remains unclear what would happen if the city wins and evicts CVCSF. City officials did not immediately answer questions about the cost of running the complex directly. A city spokesperson said officials are focused on current budget meetings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The city of Fresno has battled Granite Park Sports Complex over a tent on the property, seen here on March 13, 2026. (GV Wire\/David Taub)
\nFrazier: Eviction is Retaliation<\/p>\n

Terance Frazier has an ongoing federal civil rights lawsuit against the city.<\/p>\n

The dispute stems from 2018, when the nonprofit requested the city double its $150,000 annual subsidy for the park. The city responded with an audit, which Frazier alleged was \u201cfalsified\u201d and prematurely released to defame him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince \u2026 the commencement of the subject lease agreement, the city of Fresno has engaged in an extensive retaliatory public smear campaign against my company (CVCSF) and me \u2026 fueled by racial bias,\u201d Frazier, who is Black, said in a court declaration.<\/p>\n

He also claims the city failed to make lease-required payments and upgrades. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone is scheduled to hear the city\u2019s motion to dismiss on July 9. Frazier filed the case in 2020.<\/p>\n

Frazier also has a separate lawsuit against the city and CVCSF\u2019s neighbor, the parent company of Club One Casino, over parking. That case is scheduled for trial on May 11.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Granite Park has several no parking warning signs such as these seen on March 13, 2026. (GV Wire\/David Taub)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The city of Fresno is returning to court for the third time to evict the nonprofit operator of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218552,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-218551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}