MENIFEE - Former professional baseball player and Dodger manager Bill Russell is among those expected at a ceremony tomorrow to mark the start of construction on a park in a previously blighted area of Menifee.

Eller Park will occupy 5.2 acres at the corner of state Route 74 and Antelope Road. It will feature a baseball diamond with lights, basketball courts, foot paths, tot lots and plenty of green space, according to Riverside County Redevelopment Agency spokesman Tom Freeman.

"Eller Park is one of many community improvement projects that RDA has been working on," he said. "Construction of the project will create an estimated 75 construction jobs and will bring needed recreational activities to the community."

The $2.2 million project Advertisement
was approved by the Board of Supervisors in March. The site was identified as a prime location for redevelopment in 2005, and the county bought the land and cleared it of two dilapidated homes, a garage and an abandoned mobile home.

Last month, the board also approved rehabilitating the two-acre Rancho Ramona Park in the nearby community of Sun City, which became part of Menifee after a majority of voters approved incorporation in February.

Russell, a 17-year Major League Baseball player and manager of the Dodgers from 1996-98, will be a special guest at the groundbreaking.

Also expected is Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley, who will deliver the keynote address, and Economic Development Agency Director Rob Field.