Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 9:36 pm Post subject: Introducing...Your Fremont A's...
KCBS is reporting that the Athletics will soon announce plans to move the club to Fremont and build a new stadium complex there.
The A's have not yet commented, except to say that they hope to make an official major announcement soon. That could happen when Bud Selig travels to the Bay Area next Tuesday. A move to Fremont would likely result in more money for the A's, as they'd probably have an easier time selling luxury boxes due to the promiximity to San Jose. Fans in Oakland would have a more difficult time supporting their team, but it's proven all too difficult for them as is.
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 2404
Location: Gold Canyon
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 9:43 pm Post subject: Re: Introducing...Your Fremont A's...
David B wrote:
KCBS is reporting that the Athletics will soon announce plans to move the club to Fremont and build a new stadium complex there.
The A's have not yet commented, except to say that they hope to make an official major announcement soon. That could happen when Bud Selig travels to the Bay Area next Tuesday. A move to Fremont would likely result in more money for the A's, as they'd probably have an easier time selling luxury boxes due to the promiximity to San Jose. Fans in Oakland would have a more difficult time supporting their team, but it's proven all too difficult for them as is.
Source: KCBS.com
If so, I doubt they'll be called the Fremont A's, but a Fremont location will likely pull in more fans from San Jose and the East Bay. When I lived there in the early '90s, San Jose had a perfect chance to get the A's but voters canned the funding. The San Jose A's would have been a good market and an acceptable name.
IIRC, another problem back then was that the Giants were claiming San Jose as part of their "territory," and the commish was backing them up on it. Moving to Fremont keeps the A's in the east bay, but still allows them access to the more lucrative San Jose market.
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 2404
Location: Gold Canyon
Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 6:08 am Post subject:
John Shea / SF Chronicle today wrote:
Not only do the A's intend to move to the suburbs, they plan to brag about it.
Owner Lew Wolff announced at a Tuesday news conference that the name of his team will end "of Fremont," as in San Jose A's of Fremont, Silicon Valley A's of Fremont...
Welcome to Baseball 2011, or whenever Wolff can open shop, should he convince the citizenry and politicos of Fremont and Alameda County to OK his high-tech, 34,000-seat ballpark (and accompanying village) with a price tag approaching $500 million and a financing plan that needs definition.
Wolff was flanked by Commissioner Bud Selig and Cisco Systems Inc. CEO John Chambers, who hosted the news conference at his offices in San Jose, smack in the middle of what's considered the Giants' territory, a clear message that the A's intend to invade their rivals' fan base.
Wolff wasn't able to build in San Jose, so he picked the closest alternative, a few miles to the east. But if San Jose is the Giants' territory, can the A's call themselves the San Jose A's of Fremont? Nobody had an answer, but Selig was on board with the A's leaving Oakland, saying, "This is a classic situation of a team that needs to take control of its own destiny, and they've done it very, very well. They did what they had to do. They had no alternative."
One executive who's excited about the proposal for a money-generating facility is general manager Billy Beane, who wouldn't mind knowing what it's like to have vast resources and high-end payrolls. The A's have lost MVPs, 20-game winners and even serviceable talent for budgetary reasons.
Barry Zito, the 2002 Cy Young Award winner, is the next to go. Beane was asked if Zito could be re-signed if the A's were playing in a ballpark such as the one proposed for Fremont.
The A's have made nice annual profits by limiting expenses and cashing revenue-sharing checks, but life would be different once they left the Coliseum. "That's the goal," Beane said, "to be one of those quote, unquote, high-revenue teams. The possibility exists."
If you read the entire article, there's a hostile tone typical of the coverage the A's have always gotten from the "established" media in the Bay Area.
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 2404
Location: Gold Canyon
Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:15 am Post subject:
Associated Press today wrote:
A's owner outlines plans for new ballpark
FREMONT, Calif. -- Oakland Athletics co-owner Lew Wolff invoked visions of Boston's Fenway Park and Chicago's Wrigley Field as he outlined an ambitious development plan for a new ballpark for the first time publicly Tuesday.
Nearly 300 people -- mostly supporters of the A's planned move -- turned out for the Fremont City Council meeting, where Wolff described the proposed Cisco Field as a "sculpture" to be set amid a village of townhomes, shops, restaurants and a hotel. He also envisioned a public park where baseball fans could view a game on a large screen located on back of the center-field scoreboard.
With only 32,000 seats, the stadium would be baseball's most intimate venue, Wolff said.
The A's have said the proposed $500 million ballpark, located off Interstate 880 about 30 miles south of the current stadium, would be built in partnership with Cisco Systems Inc. and could open in time for the 2011 season.
One of the major hurdles still facing the project is public transportation. The A's owner provided no immediate solution for linking the ballpark site to BART or other light rail but said he would present a final plan for traffic issues after further meetings with city officials.
Wolff also remained coy about the team's new name, only saying that "the name 'Fremont' will be in the name of our ball team."
While many attendees touted the increased tax revenue and name recognition the A's would bring to Fremont, the project saw some opposition by environmentalists and Oakland baseball fans Tuesday.
Representatives from the Sierra Club and other groups warned that the ballpark construction could threaten vernal pools, which are important breeding habitats for federal- and state-protected plants and animals in the area.
More than a dozen Oakland supporters came in their green and gold to urge team officials to consider staying.
Bobby Tselentis, 21, helped unfurl a banner outside the city council chambers that read "Keep Our A's in Oakland."
"The A's leaving Oakland means a loss of jobs and could have a chain reaction that results in the other two teams also leaving," he said.
Wolff also remained coy about the team's new name, only saying that "the name 'Fremont' will be in the name of our ball team." The Oakland Athletics of Fremont
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