Residents, City Officials Celebrate Opening of Spirit Park

Participants in the Spirit Park ribbon cutting, from left: County Supervisor Marion Ashley; City Manager Rob Johnson; Adrian Peters, Brookfield Residential; Lesa Sobek and Matt Liesemeyer, City Council members; Parks, Recreation and Trails Commissioners Marty Rosen, Bill Zimmerman, Tom Giedroyce and Rick Croy; Community Services Director Robert Lennox. Menifee 24/7 photos: Kristen Spoon

More than 300 residents turned out on a sunny Saturday morning to celebrate the grand opening of Spirit Park, Menifee's newest public park.

City dignitaries, County Supervisor Marion Ashley and representatives of developer Brookfield Residential took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony at the 8.78-acre park, located on the north side of Newport Road just east of Berea Road. Situated about a mile away from Audie Murphy Sports Park -- a joint effort between Brookfield and the City of Menifee that opened in May 2014 -- Spirit Park offers many different amenities than its predecessor.

Spirit Park includes:

-- Three lighted tennis courts
-- Two lighted basketball courts
-- Two "tot lot" playground areas
-- A memorial garden with four sections of flowers and plants
-- A walking trail surrounding the park
-- Picnic areas
-- A state-of-the-art video surveillance system

"There are great amenities in this park," said Robert Lennox, the city's community services director. "It's not the typical design for a park, but the maximizing of it has been for the enjoyment of the community."

The park, built at an approximate cost of $4.5 million, is the latest in several parks to be constructed by Brookfield Residential as the developer continues to build residential communities in the city. Adrian Peters, vice president of forward planning for Brookfield, said great care was taken to honor the legacy of World War II hero and actor Audie Murphy, whose ranch was located on the property years ago, and his wife, Pamela Archer Murphy.

"One of the legacies Pam had was giving back to servicemen," Peters told the crowd. "After her husband passed away, she sold everything, moved to Westwood and worked for 35 years as a volunteer at the VA Hospital. In her honor, we have four circular memorial gardens with seating areas populated with roses and other native plants that the Brookfield team is leaving for Pamela Archer Murphy's legacy."

Menifee City Council member Matt Liesemeyer, in whose district the park is located, explained that great care also was taken in the selection of the park's name.

"This is just another fine example of great teamwork and coordination between our development department, residents and city staff," he said. "The naming committee for this park wanted to pay tribute to Audie Murphy himself, his legacy and his impact on the community as well as to embody the American fighting spirit. We also considered the fact that before Audie Murphy owned this property, there was a major tribal influence by the Pechanga and Soboba bands of Indians."

Residents celebrated by enjoying free hot dogs and touring the facility. A basketball clinic was conducted. Members of the Paloma Valley High School Interact Club and boys tennis team helped support the event and open the tennis courts. Children enjoyed the playground areas as well as inflatable jumpers.

"The last 6 1/2 years in the City of Menifee, we've been working to build community," said City Manager Rob Johnson. "All of you coming out today is really gratifying and exciting."