IRVINE – The plan to resurrect Wild Rivers water park on public land is scheduled to be voted on Tuesday by the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
Negotiators for the county and Wild Rivers Irvine LLC have come to agreement on a $30 million, 25-year initial lease for 17 acres of a 100-acre parcel the county owns on the former El Toro Marine Corps air base.
The spot is just off the I-5 freeway near the 133 toll road, nestled between the Metrolink/Amtrak rail and Irvine’s planned Orange County Great Park.
Approval of the Wild Rivers lease “will result in significant recreational and economic benefit for Orange County,” county land development manager James Campbell said.
Wild Rivers operated for 27 years near Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre but was forced to close down last year to make way for about 1,750 apartments. The park was promptly dismantled and demolished.
If a majority of the five supervisors approves the lease as it is proposed, Wild Rivers would pay an average of about $1.2 million a year in total rent for the initial term of 25 years. There would also be two 10-year extension options for a possible 45 years total.
The new Wild Rivers will feature all new water slides, attractions, themes and layout, company president Mike Riedel said. Only a few iconic items, such as a large clock, were saved from the former park.
Financing is already lined up for the $30 million to $35 million it will cost to build the park, Riedel said. The venue would operate about 110 days a year, starting with weekends in May, full weeks from June through early September, and then weekends again into October.
Wild Rivers has agreed to contribute $3 million up front, some of which the county would use to demolish existing buildings and grade the property. The structures include a mess hall from the 1940s and ’50s.
The new water park would open to the public in May of 2014, Riedel said.
The previous Wild Rivers was on land owned by The Irvine Co. off the I-405 freeway. It shared a parking lot with Verizon amphitheater. Both venues originally subleased the land from Lion Country Safari, a drive-through wild animal park that closed in 1984.
The water park received several lease renewals from The Irvine Co. before the developer finally gave it the boot in September to start construction on its housing project. The amphitheater’s lease ends in 2017.
Irvine’s City Council zoned the Wild Rivers area for residential development when it updated the city’s master plan in 2006.
Southern California water parks include Raging Waters in San Dimas, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Valencia and Knott’s Soak City in Buena Park, Palm Springs and San Diego, and Legoland Water Park in Carlsbad.
The county board of supervisors meeting is at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana.
Contact the writer: tmartinez@ocregister.com or 714-796-7955
