Garfield Cat

I was listening to the news and heard that developers are going to pitch in something in excess of 100 million dollars for a sports complex at the Great Park, provided developers get to put up 10,000 residential units instead of the 5,000.

Just wondering if cycling trails will be built surrounding the Park.

Rumpled

For sure some MUP's will be built around the park and among the housing developments.
What would be great would be a CX area and a velodrome like in South? Carolina that just got built.
Sports park and fields would have always been part of any size development there.

It's amazing how much money has been spent on that boondoggle.

The original home estimate by developers was about 10k - but they only got ~5k in the deal. Changes have been made to almost get to that original number now.
And, a lot less park.
Developers always win around here.

Flying Merkel

I'd love to see mountain bike, cyclocross, and BMX race facilities. Orange County has a huge population of off-road types. I'm not a racer, nor would I probably go watch, but you know it would get a lot of use.

We need to keep an eye on the deal-making. Trust no-one who can profit.

A park this size is going to take time. Wish they'd set a time frame & start moving.

CommuteCommando

Sounds like Mile Square all over again. A "sports complex" will likely include several $200/round golf courses displacing BMX tracks and RC Airplane fields, just like at Mile Square.

The "Great Park" will wind up with very little park left.

EDIT

I'm an RC'er too and Mile Square was one of the finest facilities in the country for that activity. Now I mostly bike because venues for that have been decimated by strip malls and golf courses. Sadly, RC'ers are their own worst enemy in that most want use of massive acreage of prime real estate for free. I've known guys with $10k model turbine jets that would squawk if asked to pony up $100/year for access to a flying site. Down in SD, there are no good flying sites left.

I road bike, so I am not to worried, but the BMX'ers should take this as a cautionary tale.

RStewinCA

While one would hope that such facilities would end up being put in, there certainly isn't much there now. I would argue that there were more facilities when the base first closed then there are now. At least there used to be a golf course and there were athletic fields on the foothill side of the base. Far too much money and been spent "planning" and not near enough on actually putting in park features. A balloon ride and one open lawn which doubles as a soccer field is not much to show for the millions that have been spent.

Wulf

There is a model airplane facility in Trabuco Canyon but I dont know how desirable it is.

Wulf

For me, it was anything but an airport. A super-max prison would have been preferable to an airport.

Garfield Cat

Imagine a prison in Irvine. Plush and just right for the high profile cases with white collar criminals. Then the sports complex will be built.

CommuteCommando

When I was flying, I was competing in 2meter precision aerobatics contests. Ideally it would have a six hundred foot runway running east west, with pilot stations facing north, an overfly area four hundred feet north of the runway and eight hundred feet to either side.

I have GoogleEarthed the Trabuco site, and it is O.K., but there is a no-fly zone about five hundred feet to the left. Ironically, the club that maintained the Mile Square site, and lost the fight in the courts to save it, now manages the pitiful site at "great" park, where you cannot fly in the afternoons due to sun angle, cannot fly anything gas or nitro powered (electric toys only), and have to watch for that damned balloon.

RStewinCA

You have never heard of the Musick jail?
https://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Sheriff-...ick%20Facility

Rumpled

There's also a RC field on the east side of Irvine Lake.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=irvine...ornia&t=h&z=18

I live right near Musick, and Alton just opened up and goes right along the fence. (Bake also goes along the fence for a stretch)
Seems there's an escape every couple of years or so.
I can tell when there are dozens of Sheriff's cars screaming up and down the streets and the helos are going crazy too.

Back to the Great Park. a friend who's a CE getting some work on it says the artificial canyon idea has been scrapped due to $.