Green space at the Tustin Legacy got a green light recently when the City Council committed $19.5 million to developing the long-anticipated Veterans Sports Park. The 32-acre park will feature fields and courts for softball, football, soccer, tennis, basketball, racquetball, volleyball and – the increasingly popular game – pickleball.

Along with the athletic facilities, the park will include a grassy haven for simply hanging out. It also will offer a children’s playground and a splash pad. Older kids might gravitate to the skate park. A veterans’ memorial will stand at the park’s entrance at Lansdowne Road and Valencia Avenue.

Depending on weather, Veterans Sports Park is expected to debut by spring of 2020, said Ken Nishikawa, deputy director of public works. The council approved the contract last week.

“The entire park probably will open all at once,” Nishikawa said. “It would be hard to piecemeal various openings. Construction on the different areas will be done simultaneously.”

First up, Nishikawa said, will be paving and reopening a 15,000-foot path to Heritage Elementary. The sidewalk has been closed over the past year while backhoes grade adjacent land.

Skirting the rear of the park, the 5-foot-wide path will again allow students easy access from nearby neighborhoods to their school.