The Lake Forest Sports Park stands out from all other common sporting facilities in that it doesn’t simply include the required sustainable and engineering features but was designed for both passive and active recreation elements to best serve the community of Lake Forest. The site provides a level of detail and well-considered scale to both the active athletic facilities as well as the passive recreation activities available creating an environment that can be enjoyed by the entire community both day and evenings. The site has become a gathering place for residents of all ages.
Landscape:
The parks’ landscape character is inspired by the region’s Mediterranean climate and indigenous plant material. The planting palette was developed to echo the native plantings as well as minimize the water demands of the park. California sycamores, Coastal Live Oaks and Bay Laurels were planted throughout the site to provide the framework and backdrop for the overall park development. Sustainable grasses, coast rosemary, bougainvillea, aloe and rockrose were some of the shrub and ground cover materials specified to preserve and enhance the site character.
Sports Fields:
The project’s ballfield complex provides for four little league ballfields and one womens softball field. Covered spectator seating, electronic scoreboards, caged pitching bullpen and soft-throw, and batting cages provide the adjacent support amenities to serve both league and ‘open play’ events.
There are two soccer fields with synthetic turf, shaded concrete spectator seating, and electronic scoreboards. One field is also line for lacrosse. During hot days team “misters” and water cannons cool the players and turf. The ‘FieldTurf’ synthetic turf provide an active subsurface drainage system allowing for year-round access and play.
Dwarf Hybrid Bermuda was specified for the project’s natural turf grass for the ballfields and mixed use fields. This material provides for a medium-fine blade that provides for an exceptional field surface for soccer, baseball and lacrosse. Well suited to the Southern California climate, the material provides for excellent durability and wear tolerance.
Both the multi-purpose and ballfields were designed with an integrated system of sand channels to enhance the field’s drainage and the City’s ability to aggressively program the fields for both league and ‘open play’ venues.
Architectural Elements:
Architectural features:
- Craftsman-style architecture for the recreation building and clubhouses
- Generous eaves and overhangs to mitigate / soften seasonal sun, heat and glare
- Stacked stone veneer accenting the shade structures, buildings, planters, seating walls, spectator areas, and entry monuments.
- Thematic meandering dry rock creek bed
- Prarie-style walkway lighting
- Outdoor stage overlooking the Community Commons
- Flagstone accents w/in the fields of washed concrete walks and plazas.
Natural Systems Integration / Engineered Environmental Elements:
Water Quality Features
- Detention basins and bio-retention areas mitigate for hydro-modification by detaining runoff for up to 48 hours to allow particles and pollutants to settle.
- Bio-retention swales at the base of slopes, adjacent to the playing field, and incorporated within the parking lots capture storm run-off water and biologically treat the water before it is released into adjacent Glass Creek.
- A 2-acre mitigation area consisting of grassy vegetated swales meander through basins to allow infiltration and retention during and after storm events. These capacity of this meandering swale has been designed to emulate the ephemeral streams that existing on site prior to the park’s development.
- In-summary the BMPs in-place bio-retention swales detention basin, and mitigation area reduces the peak flows by 26 CFS, and have the capacity to detain 12.7 ac-ft of water.
The Lake Forest Sports Park also provides facilities for non-sporting activities. Throughout the park site there are:
- shelters for family picnicking and gatherings
- walking trails with exercise equipment
- trails connecting with the County trail system along Aliso Creek
- two tot lots for kids
- romantic overlook of Saddleback mountain and Saddleback Church, and
- up-lighting that accentuates the characteristics of specimen trees.
In the Recreation Building there are:
- meeting rooms for conducting classes
- activity room for dancing and ballet classes
- teen lounge for youths to hang out and socialize, and
- computer center for public use and classes for technical advancement.
Outside the Recreation Building there are:
- covered patios for outdoor exercise, crafts classes, informal meetings
- courtyards and site furnishings to relax, socialize, and contemplate; and
- a 2.4 acre Commons area with natural turf and a stage for concerts and ‘Movies at the Park’ events and other large programmed community events.
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