New sprawling Fresno park gets a name. Here’s which fields open first and when
A sprawling 49-acre park in southeast Fresno is about a year from opening to the public, and Councilmember Brandon Vang said Thursday he has picked a name for the “crown jewel” of his district.
The long-awaited project will get the descriptive name of Southeast Fresno Sports Complex, which will need to go before the City Council for the approval, Vang said. It would be the fourth-largest park in the city upon completion behind Woodward, Roeding and Regional Sports Complex.
There had been a push by many members of the community to name it after a living or deceased person who was an important member of that part of town.
A past chairperson for the nonprofit Southeast Fresno Community Economic Development Association Inc. in March submitted six potential names of local people. Vang said he received about 700 suggestions in total.
“This is a sports complex and so it’s different than naming a building,” Vang said. “In the future, there will be opportunities for the city and for southeast residents to name, perhaps, individual amenities after members of community or whatever their wishes are, but we’re trying to be inclusive.”
There were 20 amenities listed on Vang’s preliminary park design and most of them could potentially be named in honor of residents.
The land along Peach Avenue between Church and Butler avenues was first identified as a potential new park in 2006, but the city did not break ground until March of this year.
The first phase, which is at the southern end of the park at Peach Avenue and Geary Street, is expected to open next August. Mayor Jerry Dyer said he expects all three phases to be done within about five years.
“I understand the importance of what a park means to people, but it’s not just the park, it’s the amenities that you offer to that community,” he said. “Southeast Fresno is extremely diverse.”
Dyer noted the large Punjabi and Latino communities in the area, which he said had requested the types of fields in the initial plans. The pickleball courts might appeal to an older crowd seeking a relaxed sport.
The first phase includes soccer fields, both synthetic turf and grass, as well as a cricket pitch, playground, splash pad and other play areas. The park will also have its own parking in that first phase.
The later phases include a basketball court, baseball diamond and courts for tennis and pickleball. Then there are plans for gardens, dog parks, walking paths and lounging areas.
The first phase includes fields that can be used for soccer, cricket and field hockey because they were the most requested, according to Aaron Aguirre, the director of Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services for the city of Fresno.
“We went through a detailed list of amenities, and we really looked at what was the highest kind of vote-getter,” he said.
A crew was at work Thursday in the park, where several of the stadium-like lighting structures were up and the curbs of the parking lot and other amenities were being shaped.
The land was previously used as testing site by the U.S. Department of Agriculture going back to 1916, but by 1998 the USDA had moved to a new facility in Parlier. The land was mostly an unused field after that save for a small community garden.
What names didn’t get chosen
The other names previously floated by city officials included Peach Park, Seed and Stone Park, Heritage Harvest Park, The Grove, The Vineyard, Vine and Legacy Park, Golden Fields Park, Peach and Vine Park, Harvest Horizons Park and Arbor Legacy Park.
The nonprofit list from March included its CEO Jose Leon-Barraza, who lost the council race to Vang. It also offered up John Garabedian, a deceased farmer and fruit researcher; Tim Liles, a principal of Sunnyside High School who died from brain cancer; Tom Metry, a deceased coach for youth soccer; Dr. Cecilio Orosco, a leader in bilingual education who has died; and Julie Quintero, a coach and referee who lives in the area.
This story was originally published August 7, 2025 at 3:20 PM.
