The city of Fresno’s attempt to evict a nonprofit operating the Granite Park Sports Complex is headed to trial.

Judge Robert Whalen denied an attempt by the Central Valley Community Sports Foundation to toss the city’s eviction attempt in his Fresno County Superior Courtroom on Tuesday.

The city says CVCSF is late on rent payments and violated many other aspects of the lease. CVCSF said it has made so many improvements to the city-owned park in accordance with the lease and should have a $3 million rent credit.

Officially, Whalen overruled CVCSF’s demurrer. A demurrer is a legal action to dismiss a case at the start because it has no merits. Whalen’s ruling allows the eviction trial to move forward, starting June 24.

The ruling did not deter CVCSF President Terance Frazier.

“I’m happy it’s going go this way. So that way, all the truth comes to the forefront. So I’m pretty excited about it actually. I just wish it had been a little bit faster,” Frazier said.

The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The city said CVCSF owes at least $81,977 through March 31, 2025, in rent.

Attorneys for CVCSF argued on two main technical grounds — that the park operator’s lender was not properly notified and the accuracy of the rent owed listed in court documents.

Whalen said CVCSF does not have standing to make notification arguments on behalf of lender Land Value Management. He also found the rent owed listed in court filings to be within legally allowable levels.

The judge did say those arguments could be brought up at trial.

“It’s unfortunate that we are in this situation, knowing that this is the number-one park in the city of Fresno, and they’re just playing political games to try to steal the park, and it’s pretty sad,” Frazier said.

Second Eviction Attempt

This was the second attempt by the city to evict CVCSF. In March, Whalen favored the nonprofit, declaring the city erred when it filed its eviction papers the first time. Whalen allowed the city to refile, which it did.

The city, in court filings, also accused CVCSF of letting its workers’ compensation insurance lapse, fire code citations, and holding events without proper safety measures.

The city also alleged CVCSF’s charitable registration status with the state elapsed.

Frazier denied those allegations.

“That’s false. The city is fabricating another story,” Frazier said.

Frazier showed GV Wire city emails indicating it had the insurance paperwork, and it did not lapse. He also denied that his nonprofit’s charitable status expired.