Great Park
- Thread starter Frank
- Start date
Frank
GOLD
I don't, but I saw that 1-7 are now in the back (new area by stadium) and 8+ is the older area used in prior seasons
Lambchop
GOLD
They don't. And it's not dirt!
Mystery Train
GOLD
Yeah, my kid has had a couple tournaments there, and the one this summer was fantastic. The grass was perfect, the layout was convenient, parking easy . . . and the drive a hell of a lot better than Norco or Oceanside! If I was still a TA, I'd book every tournament I could that plays there.
Our younger kid practices at one of the new fields at the OCGP and we were there for the opening. Its a fantastic venue. Just wait until they finish the amphitheater and all the baseball and softball fields. It will be one of the best venue in the west coast.
Last night, my wife told me that the stadium was hosting a private company function and that the field was being used for a corporate soccer game for the employee party - nice!
Just think, if we can hold the National Cup finals in the stadium. What a thrill that would be for the kids...
Last night, my wife told me that the stadium was hosting a private company function and that the field was being used for a corporate soccer game for the employee party - nice!
Just think, if we can hold the National Cup finals in the stadium. What a thrill that would be for the kids...
Sheriff Joe
DA
That could change though.
Frank
GOLD
Likely will change, however there are so many entrances in to it that it would be difficult. Also, I heard as part of building and city permits they were specifically disallowed from doing so. However, that is hearsay.
Its developed to be multipurpose facility. Its a part of offset between the OC-Irvine-Five Points/Lennar master development agreement.
The park is supposed to be accessible to everyone in OC. While anything is possible, its highly unlikely that they will charge for parking. Its not up to hosting club to charge but the park operator.
Clearly you're tainted and carry baggage from other experiences...
Let it go... Just be and enjoy the free parking
Sheriff Joe
DA
The Irvine Co has the coin, what a great city they built.
They are involved but not the driver....
It's my understanding that a developer stepped up to build the park in exchange for permission to develop additional housing (quid pro quo deal). The City is or will be in charge of maintaining. If the City doesn't charge parking then expect the beautiful fields to slowly come under disrepair due to overuse or the price of rental to skyrocket. Since the price to use this public amenity will not skyrocket, just maintaining the fields to "competitive" standards is going to cost a pretty penny. We'll see what happens, but I suspect these fields are going to start looking like every other field at every other City of Irvine park, nice, but not on par with the top facilities.
The land was turned over to the state/county from federal government as a part of base closure act. Five Points (FP) is a special LLC formed by Lennar to develop large scale projects using private-public partnership. Lennar has others, like the project to develop Candlestick Point in SF using a similar subsidiary organzation.
When I was at the Irivne City Council meeting few years ago when they took up a vote to allow Five Points to develop the land around old El Toro MC Base. (The arrangement as you've described that FP pays for the park in exchange for being able to develop the surrounding communities in Irvine.)
The OCGP does not have all the restrictions of Irvine parks in that there is no requirement for certain percentage of Irvine residents, in order to gain access. You just have to be OC resident, as the park actually belongs to the county and not the city. It is maintained by the city under the county contract, I'v been told.
Since OCGP is a showcase place for county and they view it, much like how Grand Park is viewed in Westfield IN, its highly unlikely that the park will get run down or won't be maintained. In fact, if you look at the existing old fields (used to be 1~4, but now 11~14), they are in great shape most of the year. Those fields have been open for several years under the free parking.
So when you say "top facilities", where do you mean? Are you comparing to the Grand Park or Disney/ESPN? I've been to both and the grass is nicer at OCGP. Turf comes and goes depending on the usage but its the replacement cycle that one cares about. I cannot think of any facility in SoCal that's better, when you think of the entire venue.
Last, I am not an Irvine resident or City Council meeting troll. The club my older kid played for at the time, the head of the club's brother is/was the lead lawyer for FP that negotiated the deal. The club had a big to do event for support passing of the phase that we're now enjoying.
Two things keep it from being a dream venue for me: 1) Not all the new fields had a readily accessible area nearby for the players to warm up before their games (see photo), and 2) the field my daughter played on seemed sloped enough at the edges to result in more out of bounds plays than normal (great for drainage so I suppose it's a trade off). Overall I was thrilled with it though, especially the quality of the grass, the backstop nets, ease of parking and clean accessible bathrooms!
2-7 are the new fields shown in the picture I posted above. Pretty sure 15-25 aren't finished yet.
