News Archive

Great Park Board Approves Further Development of Priority Programs

FEBRUARY 15, 2008 – IRVINE, California – On Thursday, the Orange County Great Park Board of Directors approved feasibility studies for seven priority programs proposed for the Great Park. Among the programs are an aircraft museum, a boarding school for foster-care youth, a water science park, and the county’s largest sports park. Other program concepts approved for [...]

Gift of Rare Vintage Airplane to Launch Great Park Military Museum

JANUARY 31, 2008 – IRVINE, California – Today, the Orange County Great Park Board Corporation welcomed the gift of a vintage 1943 Lockheed PV-1 Ventura Airplane from The Aviator Underwriters of Dallas, Texas. The Ventura PV-1 is a rare specially designed night flight spy plane. It once flew out of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station specifically [...]

Los Angeles Times Architecture Critic Names Great Park One of the Best Designs of 2007

December 27, 2007 – IRVINE, California – Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne names his picks for the Best of 2007. He cited the Orange County Great Park as an example of one of the year’s best designs that, “help Los Angeles build its architectural momentum.” In a story featured in the Sunday, December 16, 2007 edition of the [...]

Great Park Balloon Closed for Repairs

DECEMBER 21, 2007 – IRVINE, California – The Great Park Corporation announced today that unexpected wind gusts caused minor damage to the Great Park balloon. The balloon will be closed for repairs for one to two weeks. The gusts occurred before the balloon ride was open for passengers, and no one was on board at the [...]

Great Park Balloon Rises to New Attendance Record

DECEMBER 20, 2007 – IRVINE, California – Attendance at the Orange County Great Park Balloon site continues to break records. This past week, 2,631 passengers took flight. That is more passengers than in any other week since the balloon was launched on July 14, 2007. The daily attendance record was also broken on Saturday, December 15th, [...]

Great Park On Schedule

Board Explores Programs to be Included in Park

NOVEMBER 8, 2007 – IRVINE, California – The development of the Great Park is moving along on schedule. The design team is on track to complete a more detailed schematic design for Board approval by spring of 2008. Over the last 18 months, the Great Park Board Corporation hired a design team led by Master Designer [...]

Great Park to Propose Sustainable Community Farm Plan to Honor Orange County Agricultural Heritage

NOVEMBER 7, 2007 – IRVINE, California – The Orange County Great Park Food and Agriculture working group will meet November 9th at 1:00 p.m. in the Irvine City Hall Conference and Training Center to explore a proposal for developing a sustainable community farm as part of the Great Park Master Plan. Agriculture has been a central [...]

Great Park Recognized for Innovative Ecological Restoration

OCTOBER 31, 2007 – IRVINE, California – Environmentally passionate Great Park ecologist Dr. Steven Handel was awarded the Members Award at the California Society for Ecological Restoration (SERCAL) Annual Conference October 25, 2007 in San Diego. Dr. Handel and the Great Park Design Studio Ecologists received this honor for their submission of a poster titled “Orange [...]

2007 SERCAL Members Award

California Society for Ecological Restoration

On October 25, 2007 in San Diego, Dr. Steven Handel and the Orange County Great Park Design Studio received an award the poster titled “Orange County Great Park: A Model for Large-Scale Ecological Restoration in an Urban Setting” that emphasized the restoration and scientific educational opportunities to be created at the Great Park.

National Archives Discusses Plans for Regional Headquarters in Great Park

OCTOBER 25, 2007 – IRVINE, California – For the second year in a row, the Orange County Great Park Board of Directors received presentation today from Tom Mills, Assistant Archivist for Regional Records Services, National Archives. Mr. Mills updated the Board on plans to create a new west coast regional archives facility at the Great Park. [...]