A $1 billion mega-project in Orange County is set to transform an old military base into what could become one of the biggest urban parks in America — complete with lakes, museums, shopping, an amphitheater and enough space to dwarf New York’s Central Park.
The sprawling 1,300-acre Great Park in Irvine is undergoing a massive overhaul that city leaders hope will turn the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro into Southern California’s next major entertainment and tourism hub.
By 2029, the park is expected to surpass San Diego’s 1,200-acre Balboa Park in size and almost double the size of the Big Apple’s crown jewel of green space.
Developers and city leaders have openly pitched the Great Park as a future West Coast counterpart to Central Park, except this version comes with amphitheaters, giant man-made lakes, retail villages and a sprawling complex.
Once completed, it is expected to rival the nation’s largest metropolitan parks.
At the center of the space is the so-called “Heart of the Park,” a gigantic new entertainment and recreation zone featuring two lakes with multiple cascading waterfalls, a Great Meadow, walking trails and even a farm.
Plans also call for a 10,000-seat amphitheater, called The Amp, that could restore Orange County’s outdoor concert scene after the closures of both Irvine Meadows Amphitheater and FivePoint Amphitheatre. The entertainment push is already well under way.
The city opened a temporary live music venue called Great Park Live in 2024, with room for 10,000 fans, food vendors and more while the permanent amphitheater is built.
There is also a 194-acre athletics hub packed with soccer fields, baseball and softball diamonds, volleyball courts and one of the region’s biggest soccer stadiums.
The park’s most recognizable attraction is already operational — a giant orange balloon that can carry visitors 400 feet above the ground.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
