Plans for Preview Park Move Forward

MARCH 13, 2008 – IRVINE, California – Today, the Orange County Great Park Board Corporation approved the addition of the Palm Court, a permanent visitors center known as the “Pod” and an outdoor performance garden known as the “Preview Park.” The Preview Park is a 27-acre mini park that will showcase elements of the future Great Park that visitors can soon enjoy.

“The addition of the palm court and pod will enhance the Great Park balloon ride site,” said Larry Agran, Chair, Orange County Great Park Board Corporation. “They truly celebrate and vitalize the Great Park vision.”

In an early phase of the Preview Park, picnic tables with bright “California” gold metal umbrellas will create a lily pad effect over a 4-acre lawn. The Pod and outdoor performance garden will debut during the celebration of the second anniversary of the Great Park balloon launch in the summer of 2009. These new features will add to the balloon experience and encourage visitors to enjoy the balloon park as a full destination location.

The enhanced Preview Park will be an Orange County icon. It will focus on sustainable and educational previews. Added features will also include balloon night flights, retail and food service amenities, parking enhancements and a bioswale demonstration - landscape elements designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water. The public will be able to rent the balloon site for their own special event. Potential corporate sponsorships are currently being explored for certain signature elements of the Preview Park, including the Pod and the Palm Court.

Master Designer Ken Smith said, “The proposed improvements were meant to enhance visitor comfort, education, and give a preview into what the Great Park will become in the future.”

The Orange County Great Park, which is almost twice the size of New York’s Central Park, will be a major metropolitan park and the focal point of the redevelopment of the 4,700-acre former Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro. The Great Park Schematic Design will include extensive natural areas and open space in addition to recreational and cultural uses.

Press Contacts:
Maryann Maloney
(949) 375-0856