Fontana has a new park, the city’s 47th. “How many presidents do we have?” Mayor Acquanetta Warren asked me as we chatted before the opening ceremony Thursday. I told her 46. She replied: “We’re trying to keep ahead of the number of presidents.”
Nobody gives quotes like the mayor of Fontana. That was one lure for me to cover the opening of Central City Park. Also, I like downtown parks, not to mention downtowns. Besides, it was a relief to have an actual live event to attend again.
So there we all were under an E-Z Up canopy, molded plastic chairs set out in rows, a lectern with the city logo propped on a portable stage. Except for the social distancing, it was like old times.
“Today the longtime dream has become a reality,” Warren said in her remarks. “It’s not just a reality,” she clarified, “it’s a 14.5-acre reality.” That’s a fair-sized chunk of reality.
At 8380 Cypress Ave. in the city’s historic core, Central City Park is the growing city’s second-largest sports park, after Ralph M. Lewis, and has three synthetic-turf fields for soccer and football. Other features: a playground, a horseshoe pit and a community garden, plus restrooms.
Cypress Neighborhood Center is on the perimeter. The city picked up the empty field and held onto it until $14 million could be rounded up — a few million here and a few million there, aided by a $1 million state parks grant — to allow construction to begin in 2019.
“Man, they’re finally done with it,” said August Conrado, who was taking his morning walk along the Pacific Electric Trail on the park’s south end when I caught up with him. He said signs touting the future park went up five or six years ago.
Central City isn’t the neighborhood’s only park. The green space continues on the opposite side of Cypress Avenue with Seville Park, an older, passive park.
Along Cypress on the south side of Seville Park is the old Slovene Hall. The city bought it recently and it “will become part of this complex as well,” Councilman John Roberts told me.
The Slovene Hall is closed? Oh my. Built in 1937, that was the home of polka dances, wedding receptions and accordion festivals for generations of immigrants. That is some old-time Fontana flavor.
Multiple soccer and football leagues have been awaiting Central City Park’s completion, Garth Nelson, the community services director, told me. He said the first games would be played Friday night.
“This thing’s gonna get crowded quick,” the mayor predicted. A similar sports park is planned for the city’s south side. That’ll be park No. 48, which we can assume will open before we get to president No. 47.
Then it was time for the ceremonial ribbon-cutting.
“Do we have the big scissors today?” Warren asked from the stage. They did.
After the ribbon was snipped and the ceremonial photos were done, I did my interviews, then took a walk around the park as the bigwigs cleared out. Employees were left to disassemble the E-Z Up, remove the balloons and fold up the chairs.
Before leaving, and without fanfare, I christened the restroom.