First games to be played at new Great Park baseball stadium
As a city commissioner, I'm proud of my role in the delivery of parks, recreation amenities, and the protection of open space in Irvine.
When I am invited to attend ribbon cuttings, it's a lot of ceremony and celebration. I have to remind myself that the ceremonies commemorate countless individuals pouring in hours upon hours of planning and implementation to bring us the final product we're celebrating.
Thousands of you have joined us at City Hall, pushing for plans and implementation so that the Great Park could be transformed from raw land and dirt to looking like a park! And, not just any park, but a park to Irvine standards!
Yesterday, the Orange County Register published this piece from longtime Irvine sports journalist Tim Burt:
It will be time to play ball Sunday, Sept. 16, at the new baseball stadium at the Orange County Great Park Sports Complex in Irvine.
High school baseball games will be played at the 1,200-seat stadium for the first time and the public is invited to the games, beginning at 10 a.m., and the opening ceremonies at 1 p.m.
“It’s the grand opening of the baseball complex as well as the softball stadium,” said Dick Owens of the Ryan Lemmon Foundation, which will have games in its Future League played Sunday. “The other part of the softball (complex) won’t be open until October.”
Four, two-inning baseball games will be played at the stadium by the six Irvine teams from the Pacific Coast League along with Tustin and Foothill.
Portola and University will play the first game at 10 a.m. followed by Beckman vs. Irvine, Tustin vs. Northwood and Woodbridge vs. Foothill.
“Then for the ribbon cutting ceremony all those teams will be asked to come out to the stadium field,” Owens said.
City officials and officials from developer FivePoint will be there to celebrate the opening, which includes 10 baseball and softball fields, Owens said.
Owens said those who have seen the stadium have been impressed.
“It’s almost like a minor league facility in a lot of ways,” he said.
The stadium includes four batting cages, a meeting room and press box. On the field level, there are dressing rooms on both sides where the dugouts are, coaches offices, umpire rooms and training facilities, Owens said. There is also an outfield berm area, which can hold up to about 1,000 more fans sitting on the grass, Owens said.
To read the full article from the OC Register, click here.
For more information on the City's "Play Ball" September 16th celebration, click here.
