For more than a year, a small army of city workers and volunteers — backed by both public and private funding — have been working to renovate Arena Green Park along the Guadalupe River. Now, with several major projects completed, San Jose leaders are trying to get the word out that this long-underused park is ready for visitors.
Arena Green, a collection of grassy fields straddling the Guadalupe river, is one of downtown San Jose’s largest open spaces. Despite its central location, the park slid into disuse in recent years. Visitors had been discouraged by its slowly crumbling infrastructure, along with the proliferation of homeless encampments, city leaders said. However, over the past two years, San Jose has joined with a number of civic leaders — including the Sharks Foundation and the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy — to launch an all out restoration effort.
“We’ve done some of the very difficult work to pull this park back to public use,” Councilmember Michael Mulcahy, whose district includes the park, said during a recent event to unveil a new park amenity. “Now it’s an opportunity to give people a reason to come out here.”…