Manteca’s community parks will continue to get bigger and add new elements.
The current City Council is working on laying the ground work for either the fourth or fifth community park depending upon the definition.
That work involves discussing acquisition of land currently planted as almond orchards along the east side of Union Road northeast of Del Webb at Woodbridge.
The council is meeting being closed doors Tuesday to potentially discuss price and terms involving acquiring 60 acres cobbled together from two separate parcels of 117.3 acres and 39.2 acres.
In comparison, Woodward Park is 50 acres, Northgate Park 16 acres, Marion Elliott Park (formerly Lincoln Park), 5 acres, and Library Park, 1.75 acres.
Community parks — as opposed to neighborhood parks — are designed to accommodate heavy community uses.
There is no set plan, per se for what exactly Manteca will develop in terms of amenities on the 60 acres the city is hopes to buy using growth fees for park acquisition already on hand.
The recently adopted parks and recreation master plan identified a conceptual laundry list of improvements that could go on a 60-acre park site as Manteca grows northward.
It carries a three-phase price tag of $141 million and envisioned developing 80 acres not 60 acres.
Based on the general outline in the master plan, a large portion of the new community park would be programmed for a new lighted soccer facility large enough to host local and regional soccer tournaments.
The fields will be a mix of natural and synthetic turf fields to ensure all weather functionality. The natural turf soccer fields will also need to be designed to accommodate a regional drainage basin.
Altogether, there would be 13 high school regulation fields.
An outdoor event space and amphitheater would also be part of the park. The amphitheater would include seating for community-scale events, lighting, and sound, with an adjacent open space large enough for regional events of 20,000 people, with permanent seating for 1,000.
Such an event lawn would be flanked by an arboretum and open space.
The park would also include a 4-court indoor gym, 12 pickleball courts, four playgrounds and three picnic shelters, restrooms, outdoor fitness equipment, hardcourts for tennis, trails, and parking for 1,029 cars
Woodward Park projects
Meanwhile, the city is currently working on “completing” Woodward Park in terms of major amenities.
The city just opened the $3.4 million splash pad.
It is in the process of adding an outdoor fitness court/group exercise class studio to the north of the splash pad and west of the picnic shelter.
That leaves one large area not used for soccer fields on the southwest corner of Woodward Avenue and the main park entrance.
The master plan calls for eight lighted tennis courts for that location.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
