On January 28, 2011 the San Diego Union-Tribune (
visit link) ran the following story:
"University Heights park reopens after 13 years
By Nathan Max | 2:38 p.m. Jan. 28, 2011
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — A historic park in University Heights is once again open to the public after being shuttered for more than 13 years.
The Birney Joint Use Willie Serrano Field, which was shut down in 1997, reopened Friday afternoon following a dedication ceremony that included Mayor Jerry Sanders, City Councilman Todd Gloria and San Diego Unified School District President Richard Barrera.
The project cost about $700,000 and was paid for out of developer impact fees and Proposition 40 funds, Gloria said.
The field, at the intersection of Park Boulevard and Meade Avenue. on the campus of Alice Birney Elementary School, will cost approximately $20,000 a year to maintain. It will be available to students during school days and to the general public at all other times.
“This is a wonderful example of how government should work,” Gloria said at Friday’s news conference. “Our school district and city came together to make this project happen. It’s something we should do more of in government, not less of.”
The history of the field dates back more than 100 years, but it was shut down to the general public in 1997 to make room for temporary classrooms. It is just the second park in University Heights, joining Trolley Barn Park.
The most significant improvement is a 1.6 acre multipurpose grass field. It is the first time in the century-old history of the park that it has had a grass surface.
There is also a new quarter-acre perimeter walkway, new fencing and an accessible pathway from the adjacent neighborhood to the field.
“This old field has quite a history,” Major Jerry Sanders told onlookers Friday. “Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t play baseball here 100 years ago.'”