Fans of Irvine’s Wild Rivers, it may be time to rejoice: city officials have found a viable location for a new park and reached a tentative agreement with the park’s owner, who has been eager to rebuild. After a 25-year run, the original water park closed in 2011 when its landlord, the Irvine Co., decided after several lease extensions to move ahead with building 1,750 apartments on the property. Wild Rivers owner Mike Riedel has been working with the city for several years to find a spot in the Great Park, but earlier plans to use land owned by the U.S Navy fell through. “Luckily the council and staff was able to find us a replacement right nearby and do it very quickly,” Riedel said Wednesday, Jan. 15.

The new site is within the Great Park’s planned cultural terrace, across Skyhawk from the sports complex – but abutting the future extension of Great Park Boulevard rather than Marine Way. Residents were sad when the water park closed, not just for the loss of splashy summer fun, but because the park employed local young people, Mayor Christina Shea said after a Tuesday, Jan. 14, council meeting when the tentative agreement was announced. “We’re all excited about reopening something that people in this city have been excited about for years,” Shea said.

City Manager John Russo said there will be a buffer between the new water park and the entrance to a planned veterans cemetery, and visitors to the nearby sports facilities will be able to use Wild Rivers’ parking lot in its off season. Riedel said he plans to add more water slides, raft rides and a lazy river to the new $50 million park, which will be 50% larger than the old one. The new site will require design changes and environmental review, but he hopes to start construction in July and potentially open the park for the 2021 summer season. (2020/03/20)