{"id":364884,"date":"2026-06-17T23:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/364884\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T23:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:10:10","slug":"nonprofit-still-running-granite-park-amid-fresno-eviction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/364884\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonprofit still running Granite Park amid Fresno eviction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite a judge\u2019s ruling last week returning the Granite Park Sports Complex to the city of Fresno<\/a>, the city has not taken possession, City Manager Georgeanne White confirmed.<\/p>\n

The city attempted to evict nonprofit Central Valley Community Sports Foundation and received a favorable ruling. But CVCSF is still in control as the process plays out, including an appeal, said Terance Frazier, president of the CVCSF.<\/p>\n

\u201dThey\u2019re not giving the citizens a clear picture of what they\u2019re going to do, which concerns me and everyone as taxpayers,\u201d Frazier said.<\/p>\n

Fresno County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Skiles upheld his interpretation that CVCSF breached its lease for the park with the city. He ordered that the nonprofit return use of the park to the city. At the time, the parties said they would work out a plan for the handover.<\/p>\n

White said the formal eviction process has started. She expects the court to issue the paperwork soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce that is received, the sheriff\u2019s office will post the notice, and the tenant will have five business days to vacate the property,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

Paul Armo, CVCSF attorney, estimates the process could take three to four weeks.<\/p>\n

Frazier said the park will operate as normal, including charging spectator admission. During budget hearings, White said the city would discontinue the admission charge as there is nothing on the city books to allow it.<\/p>\n

On Monday, attorneys for CVCSF appealed Skiles\u2019 ruling to the Fresno-based 5th District Court of Appeal. CVCSF is also asking the appeal court to pause the eviction process. The appeal court has not issued any ruling or set any dates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that (the court) answers this case before the city pushes forward trying to steal the park,\u201d Frazier said.<\/p>\n

\"One One of the baseball fields at the Granite Park Sports Complex on June 17, 2026. David Taub david.taub@fresnobee.com Cops at the park?<\/p>\n

Frazier alleged the city sent park rangers to the sports complex last weekend, who in turn called police.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a small confrontation with the park rangers telling our workers that we can\u2019t charge people to get in the park and (the city has) possession of the park. They called the police department out there, and we had to walk the police department through the eviction process,\u201d Frazier said.<\/p>\n

White confirmed the incident, in part.<\/p>\n

\u201cA park ranger dropped by the property last week to walk around and was initially refused entry but was ultimately allowed to enter for the purposes of community outreach and public safety,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

The ranger called a supervisor when ordered to pay admission. That was the extent of police involvement, White said.<\/p>\n

CVCSF wins round in parking lot case<\/p>\n

In a separate legal action, CVCSF won a round in court against its neighbor over parking.<\/p>\n

In a ruling released Monday<\/a>, Skiles denied a motion for summary judgment made by GPP II, LLC \u2014 the company affiliated with Club One Casino and Kyle Kirkland. GPP II, LLC and CVCSF are in litigation over the use of parking spots at Granite Park.<\/p>\n

The ruling means the lawsuit \u2014 both parties are suing each other, and CVCSF also named the city of Fresno as a defendant \u2014 will continue. Summary judgment allows a party to request a judicial ruling without a trial, if there are no disputed facts. A trial is set for Jan. 25, 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little bittersweet for me. It\u2019s coming a little late, but yesterday\u2019s ruling is encouraging because GPP II asked the court to rule in their favor without a trial, and the court declined to do that,\u201d Frazier said.<\/p>\n

Kirkland \u2014 a candidate for Congress and a Clovis Republican challenging Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno \u2014 downplayed the significance of the ruling.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s effectively moot now that CVCSF is being evicted. In the event that they tried to retain occupancy there at the property, we go to trial. I think the city, and we are in alignment over our property rights and use of the parking,\u201d Kirkland said.<\/p>\n

\"Fresno Fresno County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Skiles presides over a hearing on June 12, 2026, regarding the city of Fresno attempting to evict the Central Valley Community Sports Foundation. David Taub david.taub@fresnobee.com Judge: Too much in dispute to grant motion<\/p>\n

Skiles cited two areas that might be in dispute. Both parties submitted conflicting expert witness testimony analyzing the rights of where tenants can park. Mike Sanchez, a former city of Fresno planner, said there is no easement created to share GPP II\u2019s parking rights. Land use expert Dirk Poeschel disagreed on behalf of CVCSF.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe evidence is sufficient to demonstrate there is a dispute as to the parking rights of the parties set forth in the parcel map documents,\u201d Skiles wrote.<\/p>\n

Skiles said it is also in dispute whether CVCSF is trespassing over the parking easement issue, denying GPP II\u2019s request for summary judgment on that issue.<\/p>\n

July 4th at Granite Park?<\/p>\n

CVCSF holds a traditional July 4th fireworks show. Frazier doubts that will be allowed to continue. He said the city has been \u201cblocking\u201d them.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now we are not confident that the city is going to allow us to have our free event for the citizens in that area that we\u2019ve been serving, which is detrimental because we\u2019ve been allowing the people that can\u2019t afford to go see fireworks. They know they can always come to Granite Park,\u201d Frazier said.<\/p>\n

Speaking with The Bee last week, White said CVCSF has not applied for proper paperwork.<\/p>\n

Frazier guessed that Kirkland will hold a fireworks program.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to act like he\u2019s the savior and put fireworks in the park, so they can look like, oh, nothing changed. It\u2019s like the nonprofit created it, got the people coming every year, and it\u2019s like they want to steal the thunder,\u201d Frazier said.<\/p>\n

Kirkland does plan a fireworks show. He held one last year, as well. His permits are pending.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a beer garden, food trucks. It\u2019ll be a fun event, open to the public,\u201d Kirkland said.<\/p>\n


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

David Taub<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

David Taub joined the Fresno Bee in 2026 after reporting 10 years for digital publication GV Wire. He has worked in the Fresno market since 2007. Prior to moving to the Central Valley, he worked for TV and radio stations on the Central Coast. He has also worked behind the scenes in local TV and radio. During his career, he has covered City Hall, the state Capitol, the White House and several houses of government in between. When not in a reporting capacity, he works tracking stats for the Fresno Grizzlies as an official scorekeeper, and also with televised basketball and football games. He has worked the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and several MLB games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue!\u00a0\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite a judge\u2019s ruling last week returning the Granite Park Sports Complex to the city of Fresno, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-364884","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\/364884","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=364884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}