Since work began, the effort has resulted in a range of improvements, including the installation of better lighting and signs, a new pickleball court and the replacement of the park\u2019s bike path. The city has also worked to repurpose a number of dilapidated park structures, such as an aging ranger station, which has now been demolished and transformed into open patio space.<\/p>\n
To help aid in the restoration effort, the city tapped a host of community volunteers as well as workers with the San Jose Conservation Corps. Together, these helping hands contributed thousands of hours toward wide-ranging projects, including landscaping improvements, creek-side cleanups and new murals.<\/p>\n
San Jose officials did not provide a full accounting of the expense related to park improvements, though the trail and lighting improvements along with the ranger station project collectively cost the city roughly $2.3 million, according to a spokesperson for Mulcahy\u2019s office. Private donors have also provided funding for the work.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Arena Green has also been a major focus of the city\u2019s broader effort to remove homeless encampments<\/a> from its waterways. The city designated the area around Guadalupe River as a \u201cno encampment zone<\/a>\u201d in 2024, meaning the city may carry out sweeps there without the typical 72-hour notice<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ed Bautista, a communications manager for San Jose, said based on observations, it appears park usage is beginning to recover.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see people returning to bike and to jog and run and use the trails as they were meant to be,\u201d Bautista told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThis concerted effort by all the parties involved is really just the start of what we hope continues to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sharks hockey team, SAP Center\u2019s prime tenant, has also played a role in the park\u2019s restoration. Through its foundation, the organization donated $200,000 for work that included the removal of a dilapidated carousel as well as a recently completed art installation<\/a>, according to team officials. The carousel structure has since been repurposed as an events pavilion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe underlying park was there, but to have a beautiful front door to our teal reimagination \u2014 which is the reimagination of the entire SAP Center<\/a> experience \u2014 it starts at the front door, and that is the Guadalupe River Park in the Arena Green, West,\u201d Chris Shay, a senior vice president for the team, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n With many of the most pressing physical park improvements now completed, the focus for Arena Green has\u00a0 turned to drawing activities and events back into the park. As one possibility, Mulcahy floated the possibility that San Jose State University might use the park for sporting events or horticultural coursework.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Pickleball-court-1024x768.jpg\")
New pickleball courts are among the many amenities recently added to San Jose\u2019s Arena Green Park. Photo by Keith Menconi.<\/p>\n
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