News from the last several days

Most of these articles are about the sale of the A's from Steve Schott and Ken Hoffman to the group led by Lewis Wolff and John Fisher.

Wolff: A's ballpark already in works 3/14

A's sale clears next-to-last hurdle 3/12

Wolff: Athletics' 'focus' is in Oakland 3/12

New A's owner says he will control planning of ballpark 3/11

A's suitor requests reins for new park 3/11

Group resurfaces for A's ballpark bid 3/8

From the latest (top) article:

"Here's a major quid pro quo," Wolff said. "I promise you, we will not write a check to the Giants. I can tell you that we are not planning to buy out the Giants' rights."

This is important because it is one of the main arguments for San Jose baseball proponents. Since Peter Magowan of the Giants is not willing to name a price for territorial rights and Lew Wolff isn't willing to pay for them regardless, it would appear that a move to San Jose is a non-starter at this point. Still, the Baseball San Jose group continues its efforts just in case the Oakland efforts fail to produce a mutually agreeable ballpark plan.

New Ballpark site

Group resurfaces for A's ballpark bid

In fact, little has been done since Wolff, who had been investigating the possibility of a new park as a minority owner, designated the Coliseum area as the best available site last summer. The park would be built on the south side but Dean doubted it actually would be in the existing parking lot, as was once thought.

"You'd have to have a parking alternative with all those spaces gone," he said, "and the idea of building a parking structure doesn't work. First, it would be prohibitively expensive and then, it would be a nightmare with everybody trying to leave at the same time after a big game."

This is the first specific mention of the idea that the ballpark will not be built on the existing Coliseum grounds. In the 2001 study done by HOK for the A's and Oakland, the Coliseum option had the ballpark built on the north (66th Avenue) side of the park.

This is an aerial photo I modified to highlight (in red) the new site. The old Coliseum option would have placed the ballpark directly north of the arena (in the dark parking strip). Hegenberger Road runs along the right (east) side of the picture. BART is in the upper-right corner. 880 (Nimitz Freeway) is west of the arena.

The site is around 25-26 acres in size. Most of it has been fenced off to prevent vehicle access due to frequent use as a site for sideshows and before that, raves. The only active tenants on the combined site are the Denny's at the NW corner of Coliseum and Hegenberger, and the EDD/office building at the NE corner of the lot. I'm not clear on who exactly owns the properties in question, but I should have that info soon enough.

What? and Why?

Welcome to the new A's Ballpark blog. My name is Rhamesis Muncada, and along with being a lifelong A's fan, I have always been a fan of the architecture of stadiums, arenas, theaters, or any venue where people gather to watch entertainment. For as long as there is an effort, I will keep this blog updated with news and links to articles about efforts to build the A's a new ballpark. First, I'll post a couple of statements about myself.

1. I am not a season ticket holder, but I go to 30-40 games a year. The A's attendance patterns make it easy for me to go to games as a spur-of-the-moment thing. If a new ballpark is built for the A's, I would most likely become a season ticket holder. I also attend roughly a dozen Giants games per year as well.

2. It is my belief that low revenues directly related to pricing and attendance at the Network Associates Coliseum have led to the team's inability to keep major free agents. I am astonished that General Manager Billy Beane and his staff have been able to keep the team competitive for six years straight even with the problems that a low-revenue team faces every season. That said, a new stadium with more attendance and revenue streams could very well help make the A's more competitive, though I acknowledge that a new ballpark is not a guaranteed panacea.

3. My focus is entirely on a new ballpark. While I understand the "Moneyball" approach to building a team and have faith in Beane's methods, there are other blogs and fansites that do a comprehensive job covering topics such as OPS, WHIP, and Range Factor. There are links for those sites on this page.

4. I do not support new general taxes such as sales or utility taxes to fund ballparks. I believe that ballparks should be able to fund themselves in large part, with minimal public investment in the form of limited infrastructural improvements. I would support a bond measure to fund ballpark construction if debt service on those bonds is met by revenues obtained through activities at or related to the ballpark. (Why the Tax Reform Act of 1986 largely prohibits this.)

5. I prefer to see the A's stay in Oakland, and have hope in new owner Lewis Wolff's efforts to get a new ballpark built. However, I hope that if a new ballpark can't be built in Oakland, it can be built elsewhere in the Bay Area so that I can continue to support the team. This includes San Jose, which is not currently available due to the Giants' territorial rights over Santa Clara County.

6. Yes I am named after a pharoah.

7. I live in San Jose. At A's games, I usually sit in the bleachers.