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30-acre sports park opens in Rancho Mission Viejo

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30-acre sports park opens in Rancho Mission Viejo

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After more than a year of development, a new state-of-the-art sports park unveiled in Rancho Mission Viejo is already getting lots of use.

Built on the hilltop of Village of Esencia, the 30-acre complex will be open not only for use by the village’s residents, but also the public.

“It’s a sub-regional sports park, so it will serve the need of the residents of Rancho Mission Viejo, but it also serves the need of outside residents,” Paul Johnson, executive vice president for Rancho Mission Viejo, said. “It was what we wanted from Esencia from the get-go.”

The Village of Esencia opened its first neighborhoods in 2015, but the sports park was part of the final phase of construction which took the last 18 months to complete.

Comprised of a multi-use turf field, baseball field, batting cages, three tennis courts, four pickleball courts, a playground and swimming pool, the facilities feature a wide array of amenities for all ages.

“It is very resort-like, especially the plunge pool, we have cabanas and there’s a barbecue,” said Kris Maher, senior vice president of design. “The most wonderful thing about the splash pool is you can stand above and look out over the whole sports field. It’s just an amazing view.”

From the pool to the field, there is a 60-foot slope with flora-filled pathways along with a stunning view of the Chiquita Canyon as a backdrop.

While the view is nice, it is not complete yet with no athletes on the fields below because people aren’t allowed to participate in organized sports due to coronavirus restrictions.

When restrictions do lift, sports teams will have to submit applications for youth sports, adult leagues, clubs and any group that wants to use the fields.

While the fields aren’t too busy at this time, “over the years to come, the park should be full capacity,” Johnson said.

Between the sports fields, there is a playground area for children.

“That was important because sometimes families end up on a Saturday at a game and they have kids of all ages, so we felt it was important to put a playground in so the younger kids who aren’t necessarily involved in youth sports can have something to keep them busy and happy as well,” Maher said.

Anyone in the community can utilize the park and courts, but the pool is the one area only residents can access. Since Aug. 3, residents have been flocking to the pool at all hours of the day to escape the heatwave.

Darrel Dagdigian, who recently moved into the community, said he loves getting his laps in before the start of each day. He used to live in Huntington Beach and said he misses the beach, but the new pool is a nice trade-off.

Matt Parrett, who has lived in the village for a year and a half, said his kids use the pool regularly, but his favorite area is the pickleball court.

“Very intense pickleball games here, not for the faint of heart, Parrett said.

“It’s a great place to live, the developers did a really good job with the different neighborhoods, I truly love my neighbors, he said.

The team that constructed the Esencia Sports Park will continue to work on park and sports fields in the community, but they won’t be in the same format or operated at the same level of sophistication, said Johnson.

The facility has been turned over to Rancho MMC, the homeowners association that is keeping watch of the park and organizing how sports teams operate.

There are currently fewer than 50 homes available in the Village of Esencia, but another village in Rancho Mission Viejo will open in 2022.

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