Cisco Field
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| Location | West of Interstate 880 near Auto Mall Parkway, Fremont, California | ||||
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| Owner | Oakland Athletics | ||||
| Operator | Oakland Athletics | ||||
| Surface | Grass | ||||
| Construction cost | $400 million (USD) | ||||
| Architect | 360 Architecture Gensler |
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| Capacity | 32,000 (baseball) | ||||
| Field dimensions | unknown | ||||
| Tenants | |||||
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Cisco Field was a proposed, but unbuilt ballpark in Fremont, California. It would have been the new home of the Oakland Athletics and would have opened as early as 2014, replacing their current home at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, where the team has resided since their move to California in 1968. This stadium would have marked the first time that the A's franchise has received a brand new stadium in which to play since the completion of Shibe Park in 1909.
Contents |
[edit] Cisco Field
[edit] The site
In April 2006, A's owner Lewis Wolff first took a modified version of his Ballpark Village proposal to the suburban San Francisco Bay Area city of Fremont 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. The land is currently owned by ProLogis, a real estate firm, and leased to Cisco Systems[1]. The land had been purchased in the late 1990s in anticipation of company growth by Cisco that never occurred due to the dot com bust. More land was purchased by Lewis Wolff's development group to bring the parcel up to approximately 240 acres (1.0 km2) at the ballpark village site.
[edit] Announcement
A formal press conference to announce the existence of Cisco Field was held on November 14, 2006. Bud Selig, commissioner of Major League Baseball and John Chambers, the CEO of Cisco Systems along with Wolff, were in attendance.
[edit] The development plan
The plan calls for the 240 acres (1.0 km2) to be developed into a combination of commercial, retail, and residential spaces in addition to the construction of a 32,000-seat baseball only facility. It will have the lowest capacity in Major League Baseball. The planned development is similar to the Santana Row development in nearby San Jose, California with the addition of the baseball park. The planned name for the park is Cisco Field as first announced by the Fremont city council after meeting with Wolff on November 8, 2006. The stadium will be privately financed primarily from sales of the surrounding "ballpark village" residential as well as commercial properties to offset the cost of the stadium. The site plan proposes 540,000 square feet (50,000 m2) of commercial space adjacent to the ballpark, and would include a hotel, restaurant, movie theater and several parking garages of varying size. Its plans also call for 3,150 homes. More than 600 of those residences — including 50 each behind the left- and right-field bleachers — would be sprinkled into retail space north and east of Cisco Field, a 32,000-seat stadium with an estimated $450 million price tag. In addition, 1,800 town homes and 700 homes would be built on 115 acres (0.5 km2) south and west of the ballpark. The housing will be built in phases, and designs show that a 41-acre (170,000 m2) team-owned parcel would provide nearly 3,190 parking spaces(West Cushing)until the town homes are built there.
[edit] Plan collapse
The earliest the stadium would have opened was for the 2014 season. On November 10, 2008, Lew Wolff reiterated that the construction of Cisco Field is still very much a priority, and that negotiations are proceeding as planned, beginning with the first drafts of the environmental impact reports. [2] The reports came back positive, but the team has encountered resistance from the community and the Fremont City Council (which has not approved the deal). "We're literally going door to door talking to people," Wolff related. "They think we're going to bring gangs into the community." MLB Commissioner Bud Selig sent Wolff a letter indicating that a move to other communities, such as Santa Clara County (which had been considered the territory of the San Francisco Giants), would be possible. Wolff indicated that a decision on whether to relocate could come by June. [3]
However on February 24, 2009, Wolff officially ended the search for a ballpark in southern Alameda County. [4]
[edit] Previous options
[edit] 66th Avenue
Oakland Athletics owner Lew 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 held roughly 35,000 fans making it the smallest park in Major League Baseball. The proposed location was to have been on 66th Avenue just north of the A's current home, the Oakland Coliseum. The stadium would have been built on what is currently zoned industrial land and would have included a Ballpark Village which would have had apartments and condominiums. The plan also called for a hotel to be built into the park along with shops. The new ballpark would also have been close to both Interstate 880 and the BART system which was the primary draw of the location. However, a new BART station or a permanent link to the existing Coliseum BART station was going to have to be built to make the plan viable according to the Athletics.
In December 2005, the 66th Avenue location was abandoned when Wolff revealed that the 70+ current owners of the land desired for the new stadium were unwilling to sell. Wolff asked the city of Oakland to acquire the land for the stadium by either providing public land or purchasing private land while he and other private developers would cover the cost of construction. Oakland was unresponsive to these requests.
[edit] Other options
Other options being pursued by outside sources ranged from other locations in the city of Oakland or suburban locations inside Alameda County to moving the team out of the Bay Area. The most promising of these 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 Mayor Jerry Brown. Brown opted to sell the site to a condominium builder to whom he 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. In addition, much of the land had already been sold to a condominium developer.
San Jose was not an option for the A's since the San Francisco Giants have an agreement with Major League Baseball that demarks San Jose as within its territory. Lew Wolff has stated "My goal and desire for the organization is to determine a way to keep the team in Northern California."[5]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- MLB.com article featuring a photo gallery
- First confirmation of name
- ESPN article November 2006
- Status as of January 2006
- New A's Ballpark Blog by Marine Layer
- SJ Mercury News Article
- John Chambers Mercury SJ News Opinion Article
- Cisco Field Stadium
- Video demonstration of stadium technology from Cisco
- Pacific Commons Retail Properties LLC
| Preceded by Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum |
Cisco Field Planned opening 2014 |
Succeeded by None |
Coordinates: 37°30′5.80″N 121°58′7.91″W / 37.5016111°N 121.9688639°W
