Oak View Group, Fair Park’s former operator, is seeking at least $5 million in damages from Dallas after the city ended its contract with the company last year, according to a legal notice sent to the city in December.
Lawyers for the venue management company say the city breached its contract with OVG by refusing to pay invoices for work performed before the termination, improperly ending the agreement and failing to reimburse certain expenses and investments tied to operating the park.
The city on Wednesday did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but it previously defended ending the park’s management structure after audits and financial concerns raised questions about OVG’s management.
An OVG spokesperson said they are in discussions with the city and had no further comment.
Political Points
The $5 million demand was outlined in a formal notice sent to the city and was included in a cache of emails reviewed by The Dallas Morning News, signaling the company could pursue litigation if the dispute is not resolved.
The legal notice provides the most detailed account yet of the financial clash between Dallas and Oak View Group. At issue is settling millions of dollars in fees, expenses and investments tied to operating the historic 277-acre park after the city last June ended its contracts with the park’s nonprofit manager, Fair Park First, and OVG.
The notice sent to City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert also came with copies of the management and submanagement agreements as well as the invoices for various amounts owed to OVG spanning 136 pages.
OVG says it suffered damages that together total more than $5 million, including:
$1.34 million in base management fees, owed from May 2024 to September 2025$2.58 million in incentive fees, owed from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2025$532,000 in reimbursable expenses$658,334 in OVG investment
Ovations Food Services LP, a subsidiary of OVG, is owed more than $600,000 for other services provided at Fair Park, the legal notice said.
City officials have been grappling with audits, deferred maintenance and public scrutiny for nearly two years since Fair Park officials revealed $5.7 million in restricted donor dollars were misspent on park operations.
Under the former structure, Dallas contracted with Fair Park First to manage the park, which in turn hired OVG to run day-to-day operations. That arrangement meant the city had no direct contract with OVG even as the company handled finances, operations and event bookings at the park.
OVG also had authority to establish bank accounts and manage funds tied to park operations and programming, including money raised for improvements within the city-owned complex.
That surprised some city officials who had expected the nonprofit manager, not a private operator, to serve as the primary steward of the park.
Failed talks
Before the contracts with OVG and Fair Park First were terminated, all sides were in mediation in an attempt to settle financial disputes and map out a transition of the park’s operations.
Park officials ultimately stepped in to take direct control of maintenance and operations while the city worked to rebuild its management structure.
The road to recovery since then has been fraught with disagreements and sharp words.
Last year, Park and Recreation Director John Jenkins accused OVG of failing to hand over key financial information and telling event organizers their agreements with the city were ending.
OVG pushed back, saying park officials never requested the financial records before the handover and that it was simply notifying its licensees that OVG would need to transition all contracts to the city.
Email trail
The Dallas Morning News reviewed nearly 5,000 pages of emails exchanged over the past 12 months among city officials, consultants and others involved in discussions about the future of City Hall. The messages offer a behind-the-scenes look at a range of issues, including debate over whether Dallas should repair the aging building or relocate government operations.