| Great Park | |
| Photo Alt: | View of the airfield in 1993 |
| Type: | Regional park |
| Location: | Irvine, California |
| Area: | 500acres (eventually 1347acres) |
| Operator: | Great Park Corporation, city of Irvine |
| Publictransit: | Irvine Transportation Center |
| Status: | Open, under development and delays |
The Great Park is a public park located in Irvine, California, with a focus on sports, agriculture, and the arts. It is a non-aviation reuse of the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Toro. The Orange County park comprises 28.8% of the total area that once made up the air base. The project was approved by the voters of Orange County in 2002 at $1.1 billion.[1]
The Great Park was the site of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro from 1943 to 1999. In 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closing MCAS El Toro and transferring its activities to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. This led to a lengthy political and public relations battle over the subsequent use of the base after its closure, and the issue figured prominently in Orange County politics during the late 1990s. Initial proposals included a commercial airport, housing, and the Great Park. In 2001, Orange County voters passed Measure W, authorizing the former air station's use as a central park/nature preserve and multi-use development. The measure was passed, which led to the designation of the land as the Great Park.
The original plan for the infrastructure of the Great Park was virtually identical to Newport Center, with five roads connecting into a central loop road separating the park into blocks. The design was later modified to include a large section of runway and conform more to the layout of the original base, as a reminder of its history. Most prominent in the park plans is the restoration of Agua Chinon Creek, which had been channeled underground ever since the base was built in the 1940s.
A contest was held for the design of the park; the winning design was created by a team of landscape architects led by Ken Smith.[2]
In the midst of the 2008 US housing crisis, developer Lennar struggled to fulfill its part of the bargain, including delayed construction of planned housing and of a "community facilities district."[3]
The Irvine City Council passed a vote in July 2014 for a plan that included removal of the canyon from the Great Park plan. FivePoint Communities was also given approval for 4,606 more homes near the park in exchange for $200 million to develop 688 acres (known locally as the "Not So Great Park") of the park which will include golf courses, a sports park, and nature trails.[4] The remaining 3,994 acres or 85% went to developers and additional city infrastructure.
The park has become a political football in Irvine city politics, with historical proponents of the airport and opponents of the park criticizing the implementation. In 2012, political opponents of long-term City Councilmember Larry Agran — including newly-elected Mayor Steven Choi and Councilmembers Christina Shea and Jeff Lalloway — won a 3-2 majority on the City Council, and called for another audit of Great Park expenditures. Agran and the other members of the City Council voted for the new audit, specifying that the cost should not exceed $250,000. Councilmembers Christina Shea and Jeff Lalloway appointed themselves to a newly constituted City Council Subcommittee charged with overseeing the audit. Through this two-person Subcommittee, Shea and Lalloway hired an accounting firm to conduct the audit: Hagen, Streiff, Newton & Oshiro (HSNO). The HSNO accounting firm was hired without a public bidding process. The Shea-Lalloway City Council subcommittee commissioned a forensic audit which claimed mismanagement of public dollars at the park.[5] In January 2020, the accounting firm in charge of the audit, Hagen Streiff Newton & Oshiro, Accountants, lost its professional license and was charged $550,000 in fines, as the California Board of Accountancy said the firm “failed to comply with professional standards, engaged in numerous acts of negligence, and disseminated false and misleadingly information” in performing the Great Park audit.[6]
Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, an organization organized by tourism company Visit Anaheim called the OC Sports Commission was tasked with identifying a potential site to host one or multiple national teams in Orange County as a team base camp.[7] After identifying possible venues, the Great Park and the Championship Soccer Stadium was chosen to be advertised to FIFA, due to the park being one of the few venues in the area that met the requirements of having two FIFA regulation-sized soccer pitches and natural grass.[8] The park was officially identified in June 2024 as a potential host site.[9]
Great Park was designed by a team of landscape architects led by architect Ken Smith. Smith's plan was chosen from those submitted as part of an international contest for the park's design.[10]
The park is owned by the City of Irvine and run by the non-profit Great Park Corporation; the corporation is governed by current city council members.[11]
The Great Park has a variety of attractions and activities centering around fitness, agriculture, and the arts. The Great Park also has venues for special events including a restored hangar and a terraced lawn.[12]
The Great Park Balloon is the park's signature attraction. On July 14, 2007, the balloon ride—designed and operated by Aerophile SA—was the first attraction to open in the park. It transports visitors to a height of 500feet for a panoramic view of the county and the construction of the park.[13] The balloon's gondola can fit 25–30 people.[14]
The sports complex construction took place over multiple phases. A soccer stadium, volleyball courts, tennis courts, and a playground were constructed over 53acres as part of phase one, which opened in 2017.[16] Phase two expanded the complex to 175acres and included a baseball stadium; turf fields for soccer, football, rugby, or lacrosse; basketball courts; and additional baseball, softball, and soccer fields.[17] The project was completed with the grand opening of the baseball and softball facilities in September 2018.[16]
The park's ice facility had a ground breaking ceremony hosted by the NHL's Anaheim Ducks in February 2017. The 280000sqfoot facility includes four ice sheets to support a variety of professional, youth, and adult programs including figure skating, hockey, curling, and broomball. It opened in December 2018.[18] [19]
The Cultural Terrace section in the southeast part of the park covers 248acres and is still in the planning stages. The City of Irvine is considering including an amphitheater, museums, and a library,[20] and in June 2017 approved an exclusive negotiating agreement with Wild Rivers, a water park that operated further south in Irvine for 25 years before closing in 2011 when its lease expired. The new 26acres water park opened in July 2022.[21] Some residents are urging the inclusion of a botanical garden.[22] [23] 62acres of the Cultural Terrace section were leased to a company that operates a green waste and recycling plant there.[24] On April 20, 2023, it was announced that the architectural firm SWA Group’s Laguna Beach branch released newly updated plans for the park, including extra room for the supposed 40-acre botanical garden should it be expanded in the future after it is built. In addition to botanical gardens, there will be an outdoor amphitheater with 12,000 seats, a museum, lakes, farms, a library, more trails and playgrounds and a 200-acre sports park.[25]
In May 2022 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the City of Irvine and Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum to relocate the museum from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar back to the Great Park, which once housed the museum when the area was MCAS El Toro. The current plan is for the museum to reopen in fall 2025-Spring 2026.[26]
A wildlife corridor between chaparral areas near Laguna Beach and the Cleveland National Forest in the Santa Ana Mountains opened in mid-2019; 2.5miles of a total 6miles required restoration.[16] [27]
Los Angeles Knight Riders, a franchise team that plays in Major League Cricket, plans to have their home ground at Great Park.[28] The stadium is expected to cost $30 million and seat upwards of 10,000 spectators once it is completed in 2024 or 2025.[29] Plans for a dedicated cricket stadium in the area were announced by CEO Venky Mysore in April 2021.[30] The selection of Great Park for the 10,000-seat stadium was revealed the following year.[31] [32] It is designated as one of two venues in Los Angeles for Cricket at the 2028 Summer Olympics, alongside the Leo Magnus Cricket Complex.[33]