Measure Q money to help fund new park
Sports complex on 112 acres purchased for $172 million will replace 54-acre soccer facility
The Ontario City Council is taking advantage of the new Measure Q dollars set to start coming in April to fund a new sport complex in Ontario Ranch.
“You will see that some of the funding for this project is Measure Q dollars, so that is where a bulk of the purchase price is coming from,” said Economic Development Director Jennifer Hiramoto. “So Measure Q unlocked the opportunity to move forward with this project.”
The city approved a $172 million purchase for
112 acres in Ontario
Rancho off East
Riverside Drive and
Vineyard Avenue to build a new sports complex to replace the 54-acre soccer complex off the 60
Freeway.
The new sports complex is the second parkland project in Ontario Ranch. The city plans to build a 370-acre green space, Grand Park, there as well. That park will span from Haven Avenue to Campus Avenue, between Ontario Ranch Road and Eucalyptus Avenue. The project was initially called Great Park, but the city is in the process of rebranding, according to Dan Bell, the city’s communications and community relations director.
The old sports complex will become the home of the new Future Corporation Yard to centralize Ontario Municipal Utilities Co. and Public Works operations, which are currently located off Mission Boulevard in the northern part of the city.
“So it (Corporation Yard) will be more centrally located,” said Hiramoto. “Right now it is kind of quite a hike as we start developing Ontario Ranch.”
The city is expected to close escrow on the acreage in Ontario Ranch on April 28 and construction on the complex is expected to begin in September 2024, with an open date for the complex set for September 2026. Construction on the corporate yard will be staggered from the sports complex, with construction set to begin in October 2026 on the yard with an expected open date of December 2028.
“There are a few things that are going to happen at the same time,” said Hiramoto. “We are going to start designing this sports complex, we will have to start designing the corporate yard, and then we will need to have the sports complex completed before the corporate yard … so all those pieces can move at once.”
For the land deal, the city will pay $52 million in bond revenues. The remainder will be paid in $1 million monthly installments funded through Measure Q revenues, the city said.
Total cost for design and construction of the park and new corporate yard is not yet set.
“Some of this conversation too is why do this now, why not wait,” said Hiramoto. “But the concern is if you just wait that value in property is only going to continue to increase.”
With this in mind, Hiramoto said, the city decided that since the owner of the 112 acres was willing to sell, it was time to move forward.
The sports complex is anticipated to reach 200 acres and the city is planning to reach out to the private property owners in the area for the additional acreage.
Hiramoto said that even if the city is unable to purchase the remaining acres, the 112 acres in escrow will double the size of the existing sports complex.
The new complex will include baseball fields, soccer fields, football fields, tennis and pickle ball courts, a swim center, and a community center.
“This is a good project,” said Bell. “It will provide a lot of public use.”