Mile Square perks

Young Fountain Valley Little Leaguers were greeted with a new face of the Fountain Valley Recreation Center at Mile Square Park when the first “play ball!” of the season was called in early March.

Part of the city’s deal with the contractors was to complete the first part of a $20 million project to expand and upgrade the park before baseball and softball season started.

When completed, the recreation center will have grown by about 50%. With the addition of 23 acres of park land granted by the county to the city in the mid-’90s, the center will now be 78 acres.

The additional acreage is a boon for the city and the park as demands for recreational sports facilities are on the rise, Fountain Valley Director of Public Works Mark Lewis said.

“It’s such a gem,” Lewis said. “It’s rare to get 23 acres of park land in the middle of what’s otherwise an urbanized area.”

On top of new sports facilities, traffic circulation has been modified and a stone facade has been added to match the style of City Hall.

The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of October.