Doug Bonelli, who represents the family trust that owns the land that houses the Saugus Swap Meet on the site of the former Saugus Speedway, has announced that more than 60 years of history will come to an end on Sunday, Oct. 27 when the Saugus Swap Meet will host its final day of operations. The Swap Meet has been open on Tuesdays and Sundays during planning discussions for the land’s future use.
Bonelli invites attendees to wear Halloween costumes during the last Swap Meet day, face painting and other activities are also planned.
A plan by Integral Communities to build 320 homes on the 40-acre site was rejected by the Santa Clarita Planning Commission during a meeting on Sept. 17.
However, the plan was rejected only because the developer refused to amend the plan to meet the city’s state-approved Regional Housing Needs Assessment. The Needs Assessment lets the state know how many homes it can provide within its borders.
According to information obtained on the Saugus Swap Meet website the property was first developed in 1924 when cowboy movie star Hoot Gibson built a ranch and rodeo grounds along the railroad tracks and Soledad Canyon Road. Over the years, he hosted many shows attracting the Hollywood crowd and also used his ranch as a movie set.
The 35-acre ranch was purchased by William and Mary Bonelli in 1937 where they held rodeos and eventually built a 1/4-mile dirt race track.
Bonelli Ranch Stadium was home to numerous events, showcasing midget cars and hot rods. Later, the track was expanded to 1/3-mile, paved and the name was changed to Saugus Speedway.
The Saugus Speedway became a popular weekend destination with stockcar racing through 1995 when the track was shuttered, reportedly due to structural problems with the aging grandstands.
The Bonellis raised three sons and four grandchildren on the property which is currently owned and operated by eight of their 13 grandchildren in a family trust.
The Santa Clarita Swap Meet has been a family-owned business since hosting the first outdoor market in 1963.
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7 Comments
We don’t need a swap meet. What we need is more houses, condos, and apartments – especially in areas with low traffic flow like Soledad Cyn Road near Seco Cyn Road. Right ????
Great place to build….NOT… Do you enjoy trains?… Do you enjoy traffic… Do you enjoy right turns only ? then this is the place for you. Unless these 320 units are affordable housing ( sec.8 ) there is no reason for anyone to consider buying one of these. Railroad is LOUD especially at 3am…The park and ride / train station is here to stay..may be optimal for the L.A. commuter but I like my sleep. Hasta La Vista Swap meet.
Have been a resident since 1998. Will miss the Swap Meet but wouldn’t consider the area a safe or appealing place to live between the train traffic and automobile traffic. Not al great situation.
The swap meet land should be a historic site and should be left alone. Most of the vendors are trying to make a living by selling their goods to survive.For60 years leople look forward to go to the swap meet on Sunday and Tuesday. I use to go there when I was a kid. Just what we need, more homes! Have you been on the freeway in the morning? Commuters are taking Sand Canyon to by pass the bumper to bumper traffic on the 14 freway. From lost Canyon to Soledad commuters are back up on Sand Canyon. The city keeps letting the builders build more and more and not putting in New roads or expanding the freeways when i moved out to Santa Clarita in 1984, it use to take me 25 to get to the San Fernando valley. Now it takes a hour. More people, more crhouses, more crime.
The owner of the swap meet doesn’t want to be in the swap meet business anymore. He’s getting up there in years and wants to sell his property. (The land is worth 100x more than the swap meet busines.) Shouldn’t someone be able to retire and sell his property?
It would be ridiculous to build homes in the speedway property. There is already too much traffic on Soledad and limited alternate routes. Santa Clarita is getting over populated.
The Bonellis raised three sons and four grandchildren on the property which is currently owned and operated by eight of their 13 grandchildren in a family trust.
The land is worth approx 6 million dollars.
As for the vendors and what they’ll do next, Bonelli said most of them are selling their goods at other swap meets and other venues. He expected that most of them would be fine.
He expected? Over 200 regular vendors will lose their livelihood. I can sum it up in one word.
GREED