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28 February 2007

That's "New A's Ballpark", Lew

I was surprised to find out that in Lew Wolff's KLIV appearance with Dave Holland on Carl Guardino's CEO show, this very site was mentioned. Specifically, Lew talked about how I and many others are eager for the details, perhaps before they're ready to present. Given the recent articles about the Scott Specialty Gases situation, perhaps more patience should be exercised. It doesn't help that I have high-res renderings of Cisco Field rotating every 30 minutes on my computer's desktop background/wallpaper.

No transcription, but I picked up a few good points from the Q&A:
  • Wolff cited an economic study for a stadium in Arlington (TX), and said that the impact of Cisco Field would be greater. Not sure if the comparison is with the Ballpark in Arlington (now Ameriquest Field) or the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. If it's the ballpark, the comparison is easy because the ballpark woefully failed to deliver on development promises made when it was initially pitched. The new football stadium has a more recent glowing economic study, but around here we tend to view such reports with a suspicious eye.
  • The soon-to-be-released A's economic study will claim that through direct and indirect means, the project will bring 7,000 new jobs to Fremont.
  • For the first time, Wolff mentioned a bus system serving as the shuttle to BART. No specifics.
  • Wolff inferred that the buildings outside the ballpark that have a view of the field would be leased or owned by third parties, but the A's would have control over the rooftops.
  • Ads would be largely digital and targeted. For instance, alcohol ads would stop showing when beer sales stopped in the 7th inning.
  • Cisco VP/Treasurer Dave Holland talked about how baseball is moving from a broadcasting model to a more user-driven experience.

On a side note, Carl Guardino was named to the California Transportation Commission, the state body charged with doling out $4.5 billion in Prop 1B funds. Guardino is a major proponent of BART-to-Silicon Valley. It's a very big deal.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why is C. Guardino being named to the CTC a "Very Big Deal?"