TheFairplex has been the home of theL.A. County Fair since 1922. Known prior to 1984 as theLos Angeles County Fairgrounds, it is located in the city ofPomona, California. The L.A. County Fair is held during the month of May since 2022, but the facility is used year-round to host a variety of educational, commercial, and entertainment such as trade and consumer shows, conventions, and sporting events.
The Fairplex is owned byLos Angeles County, but is leased to and is governed by an independent, self-supportingnon-profit organization, theLos Angeles County Fair Association, which manages and produces the county fair and re-invests surplus revenues generated by the fair and other events in the maintenance and development of the facility.[1]
Having begun in 1922 with 43 acres (170,000 m2) donated by the City of Pomona, the Fairplex grounds now cover 543 acres (2.2 km2) and include nearly 325,000 square feet (30,200 m2) of indoor exhibit space. Slightly less than half of the grounds are given over to paved parking areas to accommodate 30,000 vehicles. Among other features of the Fairplex are various scenic parks, plazas and picnic areas, a historic train exhibit, and 12 acres (49,000 m2) of carnival grounds.
TheRailGiants Train Museum is owned and maintained by the Southern California Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. The museum operates theFairplex Garden Railway.[2] It has over 80 volunteers and from November through July, runs the second Sunday of every month, from 11:00am to 4:00pm, for the general public.[3] The FGRR gears up every year for the L.A. County Fair, its primary show. In December various members run their Christmas trains. The garden railroad usesG Scale trains.
There is a largeoff-track betting (OTB) horse wagering racebook at the Fairplex, located on White Avenue, about a mile north from McKinley Avenue in Pomona. The OTB accepts racing signals from the United States, Canada, and Australia. There is also a restaurant and Sports Bar called The Derby Room. Next to the OTB isBarretts Sales and Racing, a horse facility with a (now closed) 5/8 mile racetrack and a grandstand seating 10,000. Barrett's provided equine training facilities, horse show facilities, and the Barrett's Equine Limited horse auction complex.[4] The grandstand facility is also used to host concerts and special events accommodating up to 15,000 patrons. Barrett's and the Los Angeles County Fair Association reached an agreement in February 2013 for naming rights, and the race meet was referred to as the "Barrett's Race Meet at Fairplex."[5] In addition to horse races, the track hosted the final round of theAmerican Flat Track motorcycle racing series in 2009 and from 2011 to 2014.[6]
The Fairplex is home to alarge dragstrip known as theIn-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, which hosts both the opening and closing rounds of theNHRAdrag racing series. The Fairplex is also the location of theWally Parks NHRA Motor Sports Museum, presented by theAutomobile Club of Southern California.[7]
The Fairplex is the site of the Millard Sheets Center for the Arts at Fairplex, a year-round education and exhibit space affiliated withThe Smithsonian Institution.[8] The center is located in the historic Fine Arts building, a 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) facility designed by architectClaud Beelman and erected by theWPA in 1937. In 1994 the building was renamed in honor of artistMillard Sheets, a Pomona native who was the director of the county fair's art programs from 1930 to 1956.
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From 2015 through 2017, the Fairplex became the subject of news and investigation by the Los Angeles Times for the improper collection of taxes from Fairplex RV Park residents, as well as its neglect of the RV park grounds, which resulted in issues with bed bugs and roaches as well as infrastructure problems that include damaged roads and walkways, bathrooms in disrepair, inadequate plumbing and electrical fixtures. In 2017, in a separate article written by the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Fair Association agreed to a $325,000 settlement with the residents of the Fairplex RV Park. The settlement agreement allowed at least 475 people to be reimbursed for improper collection of taxes. Unfortunately, due to the law that provides a legal right to recover improperly collected taxes, residents were only able to file for reimbursement as far back as four years prior to the 2015 lawsuit, leaving some residents unable to request reimbursement for taxes collected prior to that date. Within the aforementioned article, it has also been reported that the Association has spent $250,000 on renovations of public bathrooms and showers, and calls for more transparency of the Los Angeles Fair Association by the public and the City of Pomona.[9]
In April 2025, the Fairplex was announced as the venue forCricket at the2028 Summer Olympics.[10]
DuringWorld War II, the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds was the site of one of several temporary detention camps (also known asassembly centers) located throughout theWest. The first phase of themass incarceration of 97,785 Californians of Japanese ancestry during the war. Most internees were U.S. citizens. Pursuant toExecutive Order 9066, signed by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, fifteen makeshift detention facilities were constructed at various California racetracks, fairgrounds and labor camps. These facilities confinedJapanese American citizens until permanent location centers such as those inManzanar andTule Lake in California could be built in more isolated areas of the country. Beginning on March 30, 1942, native-born American citizens and long-time legal residents of Japanese ancestry living in California were ordered to surrender themselves for detention.
Construction on thePomona assembly center began on March 21, 1942, and the camp officially opened on May 7, 1942. The Pomona Facility consisted of 309 barracks, 8 mess halls, and 36 shower and latrine facilities. The first group of 72 Japanese American citizens arrived on May 9. By May 15, 1942 the Pomona site was operating near capacity, with 4,270 internees. Pomona reached a peak population of 5,434 before its closing on August 24, 1942. Most internees there were transferred toHeart Mountain in Wyoming. The site remained in use for the duration of the war, first housing U.S. troops, and then German and Italianprisoners of war. Today, the site serves as the Fairplex parking lot.
On August 24, 2016 a plaque was erected to recognize the former assembly center, POW camp.[11][12]
It is located at 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona, California, approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of downtown Los Angeles.
The facility features aMetrolink platform on the north side of the property, whereSan Bernardino Line trains provide passenger services on fair days.[13]
| Preceding station |  Metrolink | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covina towardL.A. Union Station | San Bernardino Line (fair days) | Pomona–North towardSan Bernardino orRedlands | ||
Los Angeles County operates a free Park and Ride facility for commuters adjacent to the grounds at 1810 Gillette Road with 553 spaces available.[14] Weekday connections to/from downtownLos Angeles are available via theFoothill Transit route 699 bus. The Foothill Transit route 197 bus connects the facility to theMontclair Transcenter andPomona–Downtown station.[15]
TheLos Angeles Metro RailLa Verne/Fairplex station on theFoothill Extension services the Fairplex. The station opened on September 19, 2025.[16] The project will include a pedestrian overpass connecting the Metro Rail station with both the Metrolink station and the Fairplex.[17]
34°05′20″N117°46′04″W / 34.088919°N 117.767816°W /34.088919; -117.767816
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