More parking, playing fields approved for Murdy Park

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Young athletes can look forward to playing ball in

a new multi-field youth sports complex, part of a joint effort between

the city and the Ocean View School District.

The City Council approved a master plan agreement Sept. 5 with the

district to expand parking and playing fields at Murdy Community Park.

The project calls for six new baseball diamonds at adjoining Park View

School, nearly 100 parking spaces and more restrooms.

“I think it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved,” said James

Tarwater, Ocean View’s superintendent. “The adults don’t use our fields,

and the school district has always been supportive of youth activities.”

Park View hasn’t served elementary students for 10 years, he added.

Instead, the school is leased to the Huntington Beach Union High School

District for adult education classes, leaving its fields open for other

uses.

The six new playing fields, to be used by the public and the Ocean

View Little League during baseball season, include two minor and one

major league diamonds, as well as fields for the league’s farm,

challenger and T-ball teams.

Removable fences would enclose the diamonds during the baseball

season, and they would be taken out to make way for soccer, football and

other sports at other times, school officials said.

“Murdy is the first of five community parks that we plan on orienting

toward youth sports,” said Ron Hagan, the city’s director of community

services. “There will be a complex for adults at Central Park, and having

youth complexes in neighborhood parks will meet the facility needs while

cutting down on traffic and other disturbances in those neighborhoods.”

An inventory and study of the city’s community sports facilities in

1997 recommended the development of a multiuse youth sports complex, city

officials said. The project has been in the works for the last year, they

added.

“This plan stems from the district’s plan to use its Crest View and

Rancho View school sites for commercial purposes,” Hagan said, adding

that when the schools were built, they were joined to parks to maximize

field usage. “The school’s efforts here mitigate the loss of the fields

attached to those schools.”

Murdy Park already features two lighted baseball diamonds, lighted

basketball and tennis courts, fields for soccer and football, and a

community center. The park also has restrooms, a community building and

picnic facilities.

When complete, the city’s youth sporting needs should be met for the

next 25 years, city officials said, adding that they expect the project

to be finished by 2002.