Lake Forest Sports Park Gets Go-Ahead from Council

More than two years after the first public workshop gauging Lake Forest residents' interest in a sports park, groundbreaking on the long-awaited project is within sight.

A unanimous vote Tuesday evening by the City Council gave RJM Design Group, the project architect, the OK to prepare construction plans.

“The wheels are turning, and the project is under way,” said Robert Dunek, city manager.

Applause, cheers—and relief—greeted the decision, which came after a presentation of the details of the final master plan and discussion by the City Council.

The plan for the sports park includes:

• Five baseball/softball diamonds. 
• Five soccer/multi-use fields. 
• Two basketball courts. 
• Two playgrounds with play structures.
• A centrally located multi-use lawn ("The Commons") for hosting cultural and special events, and sports activities. 
• An approximately 30,000-square-foot Recreation Center with a gymnasium and multipurpose meeting and classroom space. 
• Parking for approximately 535 vehicles. 
• Restrooms and concession spaces. 
• Trail connections to local and regional trails and preservation of existing vegetation and open-space habitat. 
• Security lighting and lighting for all sports fields and courts.  

"It's exhilarating to have something go out for construction bids," said John Irish, vice chairman of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission. "To see something physically happen ... we're all extremely happy."

Irish said he skipped a meeting of his homeowners association—of which he is president—to see the City Council vote on the sports park.

He was accompanied by Parks and Recreation Commissioner Loretta Herrin and Chairman Jim Rosenberg, who urged the council's support of the final plan.

"There is no perfection—I think we’ve come to realize this—but this is as good as we get," Rosenberg said of the years of compromise undertaken to get the plan finalized.

Rosenberg, director of the South Orange County chapter of AYSO, said the completed park will be the largest local soccer complex in the county.

The necessary have been granted, making it likely that the council will vote on a clearing and grubbing contract for the sports park in November, Dunek said at the meeting.

”People will see activity starting in just a few weeks out—call it the end of November or the beginning of December," he said.