Oakland Ballpark

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Oakland Ballpark
Oakland Ballpark.jpg
Artist rendering of Oakland Ballpark
Oakland Ballpark is located in Oakland, California
Oakland Ballpark
Oakland Ballpark
Location in Oakland
Oakland Ballpark is located in California
Oakland Ballpark
Oakland Ballpark
Location in California
Oakland Ballpark is located in the United States
Oakland Ballpark
Oakland Ballpark
Location in the United States
Address1 Market Street
LocationOakland, California
Coordinates37°47′44.7″N 122°17′0,03″W / 37.795750°N 122.28333°W / 37.795750; -122.28333Coordinates: 37°47′44.7″N 122°17′0,03″W / 37.795750°N 122.28333°W / 37.795750; -122.28333
Public transitAmtrak Amtrak:
Oakland – Jack London Square
Cable car Gondola from Downtown (planned 2023)[1]
Bus interchange AC Transit:
12, 72, 72M, 72R, Broadway Shuttle
ferry/water interchange San Francisco Bay Ferry:
Oakland Ferry Terminal
OperatorOakland Athletics
Capacity34,000
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Construction costUS$500 million+
($511 million in 2018 dollars)[2]
ArchitectBjarke Ingels Group
Tenants
Oakland Athletics (MLB) (from 2023)
Website
Official website

Oakland Ballpark is the working name for a proposed ballpark to be built in the Jack London Square neighborhood of Oakland, California. It is proposed as the new home of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. It would serve as the replacement to their current home at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, where the team has resided since 1968. This would mark the first time that the Athletics franchise has played in a brand new stadium since the completion of Shibe Park in 1909.

Summary[edit]

The Athletics have proposed constructing a 34,000-seat stadium at Howard Terminal owned by the Port of Oakland at Jack London Square. After securing the site, the team proposes to begin construction in 2021 with the stadium opening in 2023.[3]

History[edit]

Background[edit]

Towards the early 2000s it was becoming clear that the Oakland Coliseum was inadequate for the long term future to host the Athletics and the NFL's Oakland Raiders. Major League Baseball began pushing the team to pursue a new stadium either in Oakland or elsewhere. The Coliseum is the last facility in Major League Baseball that is also home to a NFL team. It is also the last stadium remaining of the multi-purpose stadiums of the 1960s designed for both baseball and football in Major League Baseball. In recent years, the Coliseum has been criticized as being one of the "worst stadiums in baseball".[4] Problems cited include the large amount of foul territory and the addition of Mount Davis.

The former allows for more foul-outs while the latter has been criticized for "ruining" the ambiance of the original configuration. In addition, the stadium has been plagued with sewage issues which include flooding of the dugouts and clubhouses with sewage. The process of finding a new stadium began in 2001 with a plan for a stadium in Oakland. After the first plans in Oakland along with plans for a stadium in Fremont and San Jose fell through the Athletics arrived at the current plan.

Timeline[edit]

  • 1968 – The Kansas City Athletics move to Oakland and begin playing at the Coliseum.
  • 1982 – The Oakland Raiders move to Los Angeles leaving the Coliseum as a baseball-only facility.
  • 1995 – The Raiders move back from Los Angeles and the Mount Davis renovation is added to the Coliseum.
  • 2001 – Uptown site is proposed, gets rejected by mayor Jerry Brown.
  • 2005 – 66th Avenue site is proposed.
  • 2006 – Cisco Field plan is announced in Fremont.
  • 2009 – Fremont location is abandoned after public resistance.
  • 2010 – City of Oakland proposes waterfront site at Jack London Square for a new ballpark.
  • 2011 – City tables the Victory Court site in favor of a proposed three-venue development at the Coliseum site titled Coliseum City.
  • 2012 – Cisco Field in San Jose is announced, San Francisco Giants object due to territorial rights.
  • 2014 – A's began talks with an architect to build a baseball-only stadium at the Coliseum site.
  • 2015 – United States Supreme Court rejects San Jose's bid on the Athletics.
  • 2016 – Team reveals they will choose between the Port of Oakland, Coliseum site, and the Peralta area for a new stadium.
  • 2017 – Team chooses Peralta area of Oakland near Laney College, is rejected by college board and surrounding Chinatown neighbors.
  • 2018 – Team proposes to buy the Coliseum site outright in exchange for paying off the remaining $135 million debt owed by the city of Oakland and Alameda County.
  • 2018 – Team chooses Port of Oakland/Howard Terminal site and releases renderings.

Early plans (2001–2005)[edit]

The first of the promising early sites had been a site in Uptown Oakland. In a 2001 study, Populous (formerly HOK Sport) had suggested this as the prime site for a ballpark; however, plans to build a park there were canceled by then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown due to the concern of the ballpark ruining the housing development of the neighborhood.[5] Brown (who later became governor of California) opted to sell the site to a condominium builder to whom he allegedly had ties. The City of Oakland also considered a site near the Oakland Estuary for a stadium; however, the A's showed no interest in the site due to lack of public transit access. Another possible location that was explored was land directly adjacent to the Coliseum, to the southeast, in what is currently overflow parking, which would have meant the two stadiums would share a parking lot. However, much of that land had already been sold to a condominium developer.[6]

66th Avenue in Oakland (2005)[edit]

Oakland Athletics owner Lewis Wolff presented his vision for the team's venue to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority on August 12, 2005. The ballpark he proposed would have been on 66th Avenue just north of the Coliseum. The stadium would have been built on what is currently zoned industrial land and would have included a Ballpark Village which would have included shops and either a hotel or apartment building in one of the outfield walls of the park.[7]

Cisco Field[edit]

Cisco Field in Fremont (2006)[edit]

In April 2006, Lewis Wolff took his Ballpark Village proposal to Fremont, a city 26.5 miles (~42.65 km) southeast of Oakland, where a large 143-acre (0.6 km2) parcel of land is available just north of Mission Boulevard and south of Auto Mall Parkway off Interstate 880 and across from Pacific Commons.[8] The land is currently owned by ProLogis, a real estate firm, and leased to Cisco Systems.[9] A formal press conference to announce the existence of Wolff's ballpark proposal of Cisco Field was held on November 14, 2006. The plan would be to build a 32,000 to 35,000 capacity stadium on the parcel of land in addition to adding housing and shops.[10] Bud Selig, commissioner of Major League Baseball and John Chambers, the CEO of Cisco Systems along with Wolff were in attendance.[11]

The proposal of the ballpark encountered problems such as delays due to construction issues, lack of public transportation, and complaints from Fremont residents citing traffic congestion, noise, and pollution concerns. This lead to Wolff officially ending the ballpark search in Fremont on February 24, 2009.[12]

2010[edit]

On November 16, 2010, the City of Oakland proposed a waterfront site in the Jack London Square area for a new A's ballpark. The site, called Victory Court, was near the Lake Merritt Channel, along the Oakland Estuary. The city conducted an environmental impact report for the Victory Court site and informed Major League Baseball of its decision. The city began accepting public comment on the ballpark EIR at the December 1 Planning Commission meeting held at Oakland City Hall. By the end of 2011, the city had tabled the Victory Court site in favor of a proposed three-venue development at the Coliseum site titled Coliseum City.[13]

Cisco Field in San Jose (2012)[edit]

Cisco Field was then proposed to be constructed in downtown San Jose immediately adjacent to SAP Center and San Jose Diridon Station at the corner of Montgomery Street and Park Avenue.[14] For the A's to have moved to San Jose, either the San Francisco Giants would have had to rescind their territorial rights on the area, or at least 23 of the 30 MLB owners would have had to vote in the A's favor and force San Francisco to give up their territorial claim to Santa Clara County. Lew Wolff stated, "My goal and desire for the organization is to determine a way to keep the team in Northern California."[15] The Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Jose[16] had been acquiring the properties needed at the Diridon South site.[17] The available land, only 12-14 acres, would have given rise to a very intimate stadium. As a result of its small size, it was speculated that it would have been very hitter-friendly.[18]

The Giants repeatedly refused to cede their territorial rights to the San Jose area (which had been yielded by the A's in the early 1990s when the Giants had been in danger of relocating to Tampa Bay, previously both teams had shared the South Bay),[19] although the team is open to sharing Oracle Park with the A's on a temporary basis if the A's have plans for a permanent stadium in the works.[20]

In August 2012, Commissioner Bud Selig's "blue ribbon" committee, which had been implemented to study potential ballpark locations for the Athletics, met with Oakland and San Jose officials. At the Oakland meeting, the committee was met with a proposal for a ballpark on the site of Howard Terminal, a container terminal on the Oakland waterfront near Jack London Square currently owned by the Port of Oakland.[21] Wolff stated the site "has no ability to be implemented for a ballpark."[22] Major League Baseball, however, stated that it was their preferred location for a new ballpark in Oakland.

On October 5, 2015 the United States Supreme Court rejected San Jose's bid on the Athletics.[23]

Back to Oakland (2014–present)[edit]

On June 25, 2014, the Athletics reached a 10-year lease agreement with the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Authority to stay at the Oakland Coliseum. Bud Selig commended both sides for reaching a deal on a lease extension, while offering, "I continue to believe that the Athletics need a new facility and am fully supportive of the club's view that the best site in Oakland is the Coliseum site."[24] On July 16, 2014, the extension was officially approved.[25]

On August 6, 2014, the A's began talks with an architect to build a baseball-only stadium at the Coliseum site, according to Wolff.[26]

2016[edit]

In 2016, Lewis Wolff resigned as the majority owner of the team. John J. Fisher then took over as majority owner. Fisher appointed Dave Kaval as team president and head of the stadium project.[27] Around the same time, the Raiders announced their relocation to Las Vegas by 2020 which combined with the Golden State Warriors' move to Chase Center in San Francisco by 2019. This will leave the Athletics as the last professional sports team in Oakland. The team revealed three stadium options in 2016, the current Coliseum site, the Peralta area near Laney College, or Howard Terminal at the Port of Oakland.[28]

Peralta Site (2017)[edit]

After a comprehensive study of three proposed ballpark sites (Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum[29], Howard Terminal and Peralta Community College Headquarters District), the A's ownership determined that the best potential site to fit the needs of the A's and create the most community partnership opportunities and benefits was the Peralta site. The team announced that the Peralta site would be the preferred choice for the A's new ballpark on September 13, 2017.[30] The area is located between Lake Merritt and I-880 where there are warehouses, parking lots and administrative offices for the Peralta Community College District.

Opposition to the project included members of the Peralta Federation of Teachers, select student and facility groups of neighboring Laney College and a local coalition of organizations led by (APEN), Asian Pacific Environmental Network. After several months of preliminary discussions amongst the A's and the Peralta Community College's Office of the Chancellor Jowel Laguerre, Chancellor of Peralta Community College District, a statement was issued by the Chancellor indicating that he had been instructed to "discontinue planning"[31] for the ballpark after a closed session meeting of the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees on the evening of December 5, 2017.[32]

Current plan[edit]

Howard Terminal in 2018

Howard Terminal[edit]

Located close to the downtown Oakland area, the Charles P. Howard Terminal is west of Jack London Square and is currently next to train tracks and large industrial facilities. The 55-acre waterfront property is currently owned by the Port of Oakland. Howard Terminal has not been used by a cargo vessel since 2013. On April 26, 2018, the Port of Oakland commissioners voted 6-0 unanimously to enter in to a one-year agreement to negotiate exclusively with the Oakland A's[33]. This agreement allows the A's to pay the Port $100,000 to study economic feasibility and environmental, transportation and accessibility issues. A similar agreement with the A's regarding the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum site was also agreed upon with the city on May 16, 2017.[34] 

The Athletics sent a letter in March 2018 to the City of Oakland proposing to purchase the entire Coliseum property including Oracle Arena and develop it into a new ballpark and ballpark village in exchange for paying off $135 million of debt owed on the property by the City of Oakland and Alameda County.[35] On November 28, 2018, The Athletics announced that the team had chosen to build its 34,000 seat new ballpark at the Howard Terminal site at the Port of Oakland. The team also announced its intent to purchase the Coliseum Site and make the site into a tech and housing hub, preserving Oracle Arena and reducing the Coliseum to a low-rise sports park as San Francisco did with Kezar Stadium.[36]

BIG Partnership[edit]

As the team progresses towards their goal of opening day in a new ballpark in 2023, they have hired Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to be the lead designer in developing plans for the new home for the A's[37]. BIG is a Danish architecture firm led by Starchitect Bjarke Ingles that has built some of the world's most innovative buildings and projects. For the A's, BIG is working on designing a 21st-century new ballpark home for the team in Oakland, and the surrounding development around the new ballpark. This will be BIG's first Major League Baseball stadium.[38]

Community Engagement Plan[edit]

Throughout his quest for a new ballpark for the A's, Dave Kaval has made the process of engaging the community an extensive effort in working with the people that live, work, play and connect in Oakland. The hundreds of meetings with the community have given citizens a voice to share their perspectives and values on how a new ballpark can benefit their neighborhoods and provide opportunities as the city continues to progress. The meetings have allowed the A's to work in concert with the city as they become the only professional sports team left in Oakland. These set of meetings occurring during the fall and winter months of 2018 in East and West Oakland are progressive discussions that will elaborate upon the proposed ballpark projects of both the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Howard Terminal sites.[39]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Oakland Ballpark Gondola". 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  2. ^ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  3. ^ "Oakland Ballpark". www.mlb.com. 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  4. ^ "The 5 Worst Stadiums in All of Major League Baseball". Bleacher Report. January 30, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  5. ^ Platoni, Kara (July 17, 2002). "It's Bottom of the Ninth for Uptown". East Bay Express. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  6. ^ "Cisco Field - Proposed Home of the 2010 Fremont A's". Sports-venue.info. Archived from the original on April 12, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  7. ^ Dickey, Glenn; Writer, Chronicle Staff (2005-08-12). "A's owner unveils stadium plans". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  8. ^ "Cisco Field". ballparks.com. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  9. ^ Oakland A's sign Fremont land deal San Francisco Chronicle
  10. ^ "A's, Cisco reach deal to build ballpark in Fremont". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  11. ^ Hoge, Patrick; Lagos, Marisa (2006-11-14). "A's announce plan to buy land, move to Fremont". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  12. ^ "A's abandon plans for Fremont ballpark – Sacramento Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. February 24, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  13. ^ Gammon, Robert (December 14, 2011). "Coliseum City Unveiled". East Bay Express. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  14. ^ "San Jose's Cisco Field". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  15. ^ "Oakland A's Abandoned Plans To Move To Fremont". www.ktvu.com. February 24, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "Diridon Station Area Ballpark". Sjredevelopment.org. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  17. ^ "Herhold: San Jose council whiffs in allowing town homes near Santana Row – San Jose Mercury News". Mercurynews.com. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  18. ^ "Home Run Park Factor—A New Approach". Hardballtimes.com. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  19. ^ Heyman, Jon (May 17, 2012). "Giants still intend to enforce their territorial rights in San Jose and block an A's move". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  20. ^ Pavlovic, Alex (February 26, 2014). "Giants willing to share AT&T Park with A's". The Mercury News.
  21. ^ Matier, Phillip; Ross, Andrew (August 4, 2012). "Secret meeting on A's port-ballpark plan". San Francisco Chronicle. sfgate.com. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  22. ^ Newman, Bruce; Noguchi, Sharon (August 5, 2012). "40 months and counting: Baseball committee -- again -- secretly meets with both San Jose and Oakland". Oakland Tribune. InsideBayArea.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  23. ^ "U.S. Supreme Court rejects San Jose's bid to lure Oakland A's". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  24. ^ "A's reach 10-year lease deal to stay at Coliseum". USA Today. June 25, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  25. ^ Goodell: Levi's might fit Raiders ESPN.com (July 18, 2014)
  26. ^ "A's approach architect about building new ballpark in Oakland". San Francisco Chronicle. August 6, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  27. ^ Hickey, John (November 17, 2016). "As Lew Wolff exits, new president Dave Kaval brings optimism". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  28. ^ Spedden, Zach (January 10, 2018). "Oakland A's Returning to Three Ballpark Site Options". www.ballparkdigest.com. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  29. ^ Coliseum, Oracle Arena and Oakland-Alameda County. "Oracle Arena and Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum". www.oraclearena.com. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  30. ^ "A's appear to favor Peralta site for new stadium". SFChronicle.com. 2017-06-19. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  31. ^ FOX. "Peralta board of trustees directs chancellor to stop A's stadium planning". KTVU. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  32. ^ "A's Stadium Plan at Peralta Site Falls Through". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  33. ^ "Port of Oakland OKs A's wish to study Howard Terminal ballpark". The Mercury News. 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  34. ^ "Let's play two: OAKLAND enters ENA with A's for Coliseum property". 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  35. ^ "Mayor Schaaf supports exclusive negotiating deal with Oakland A's on ballpark sites". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  36. ^ "A's settle on a ballpark site and a futuristic stadium". The Mercury News. 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  37. ^ "BIG has been selected to lead design for the new Oakland A's stadium - Archpaper.com". archpaper.com. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  38. ^ Newcomb, Tim (September 5, 2018). "What To Expect From Oakland's New BIG-Designed Ballpark". www.forbes.com. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  39. ^ "Community Engagement: What We Heard". www.mlb.com/athletics/oakland-ballpark. 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2019.

External links[edit]

Events and tenants
Preceded by
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 		Home of the
Oakland Athletics
2023 – future 		Succeeded by
none
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