At redone park, play ball

To celebrate the reopening of the TeWinkle Park Athletic Complex on Thursday, Davis Elementary School sixth-grader Clarissa Olivares and her fellow classmates sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

Last year, before the revamping of the site, “it looked like a dump,” the 11-year-old Costa Mesa girl said.

“I think it’s gorgeous now,” said Clarissa’s mother Mari Pozgaj after the dedication of the new facility by Costa Mesa city staffers and council members. “It makes me want to go and get bats and balls and play catch.”

The face-lift of the athletic complex at 980 Arlington Drive took one year to complete, recreation manager Jana Ransom said.

The new $3.4-million facility includes three softball fields, one baseball field, a snack bar, bleachers, round picnic tables, new lighting, plum leaf trees and new dirt. But it’s not just any old dirt, Ransom said.

“It’s Angel in-field mix. It’s state-of-the art. It’s what they use at Angel Stadium,” Ransom said.

The lighting is also state-of-the art, using 40% less electricity. And the brightness is less intrusive to nearby residents, she said.

The pathway to the fields and the snack bar is lined with new trees.

The idea to build a new complex began about 16 years ago when Councilman Gary Monahan and parks and recreation commissioner Mark Harris played ball on the fields.

“Monahan provided the vision,” Ransom said.

When both Monahan and Harris played on the fields back then, “The bathrooms were falling apart” and the snack bar was inadequate, Monahan said.

Fixing the complex was part of his 1994 council campaign. He was elected to the council that year.

“It’s been a long and windy road,” said Monahan, who is termed out of office this year. “It’s satisfying to be a part of the completion of the complex. So many people have worked on it for so long. It’s nice to see it done.”

The people who have worked on the project include Monahan, Harris, as well as the city’s recreation division, Ransom said.

“Not only is the community proud, but the city staff is proud of their work too,” she said.

Clarissa’s father Nino Pozgaj said city staff did a great job on the complex.

“It makes me proud to live in Costa Mesa,” said Nino Pozgaj, who has lived in Costa Mesa with his family for six years.