The historic Cow Palace and several other Bay Area fairgrounds are considering a proposal by a private company to build data centers and helipads across California \u2014 with the goal of developing 70 by 2030. <\/p>\n
After being approached earlier this year, the Cow Palace is in the early stages of evaluating a proposal from California-based Global Stack, which wants to lease about five acres of the property for a small \u201cedge\u201d data center, a multilevel parking garage, and a helicopter landing pad, as the Chronicle reports<\/a>. <\/p>\n The proposed project, which requires a 100-year land agreement, would reportedly use less land and power than a typical large-scale data center, with each facility drawing up to 10 megawatts of electricity. <\/p>\n The company is pitching similar projects at fairgrounds across the state, saying the long-term leases would generate steady revenue while expanding parking and emergency response capabilities. The Chronicle reported<\/a> in a separate article that Global Stack says it hopes to build facilities at 70 California fairgrounds by 2030.<\/p>\n The Cow Palace Arena & Event Center is one of eight Bay Area fairgrounds considering Global Stack’s proposal \u2014 which is just in the presentation stage \u2014 alongside the San Mateo County Event Center, Solano County Fairgrounds, and Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, among others. The Chronicle reported last week that the Calistoga Fairgrounds Advisory Committee has already rejected<\/a> the idea after residents quickly raised concerns about noise and pollution following a presentation by Global Stack.<\/p>\n Cow Palace CEO Allison Keaney said the venue is still doing its due diligence before deciding whether to move forward. She said fairgrounds increasingly rely on long-term tenants to help offset the ups and downs of the events business, and noted the added parking and helipad could also support major events and emergency operations.<\/p>\n