Twice the size of New York City's Central Park ,Orange County California's Great Park will bring over 1,400 acres of urban paekland to the city of lrvine and the surrounding ragion.Planned on the former site of El Toro Air Force base,this large trock of underveloped ionc is situated between the Santa Ana Hills to the East and the Loguna Hills to the West.

The main feature of the Great Park will be an active man-made canyon which runs through the park and will support a diverse range of active and passive programs.The canyon will help organize on entilrely new togograpgy for the former military base,providing over 60' of elevation change with the addition of a new river and lake at its base.In addition to the canyon,batanical gardens,and several arts and cultural facilities including a large outdoor amphitheater will be programmed into the park.THese new programs will create a varity of weekday and weeknight uses as well as serveral destination functions for regional visions on the weekends.The park itself will be integrated into the dense neighborhoods that surround it on all edges and will capitalize on the sites proximity to regional rail service and nearby freeways,with link North and South to LA and San Diego.Early phases of the park will entail major earth works planned for the canyon and the sports park supporting recreational needs to the neighborhoods and providing the topographic fromework for all future development in the park.

A ththered helium balloon rade,scheduled to open in January 2009,will be the first completed element foe the park and will provide with a birs's transformation into the first great metropolitan park of the 21st Century.