“I think we’re making really good progress. I particularly like the interchange between the sports groups, youth groups and residents of the community. It’s not about AYSO against Little League; they really are able to step back and look at the site as a whole and also take the school’s needs into consideration,” Roeder said.
So far, the plan is to shuffle fields around so that space is used more efficiently, resurface the fields (some with artificial turf) and add other amenities like playgrounds and concession stands.
Altogether, two new fields, three new tennis courts, playgrounds and concession stands will be added without the acquisition of any new land, which city officials say will save a lot of money.
The two areas that would see the renovations are the TeWinkle Middle School/California Elementary School complex in Mesa Verde and the Costa Mesa High School/Davis Elementary School complex.
“It’s one of the largest efforts we’ve put together and the first one where we’ve worked in partnership with the school district,” City Engineer Bart Mejia said.
At TeWinkle, for instance, the soccer field closest to Iowa Street on Gisler Street would be covered in artificial turf and used for baseball and soccer.
The school would also be outfitted with an Olympic-sized rubberized track surrounding a full-size soccer field.
At Costa Mesa High School, the baseball fields would be separated from the soccer fields and a cluster of nine tennis courts on the edge of fields would replace the existing tennis courts.
“The overall majority of us agreed that the best concepts separated the baseball fields from the soccer fields, and that was pretty consistent,” said Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kurt Galitski.
A slew of other changes are also proposed.
