Pages

01 March 2007

Brief news items

The Bay Area will receive 70% of the Prop 1B money earmarked for Northern California. In total, the MTC will receive nearly $1.3 billion in funds, more than Los Angeles County's almost $1.2 billion. Two projects that didn't make the cut two weeks ago now just got over $160 million in new financing, and they're quite relevant to the Cisco Field even though they aren't within 5 miles of the ballpark. They are:
  • Carpool/HOV lane on Southbound I-880 from Hegenberger Rd. in Oakland to Marina Blvd. (San Leandro). This section frequently gets jammed up on weeknights as it loses a lane while going south. Adding a HOV lane should help siphon carpoolers earlier in the commute, giving ballpark goers from Oakland HOV access all the way down the Nimitz.
  • Carpool/HOV lanes I-880 between US-101 and CA-237. Only a few years ago, this section was strictly two lanes in each direction. While the addition of a lane in each direction helped reverse commuters (like yours truly), those stuck in the regular commute continued to face much congestion. A HOV lane would help fans coming from San Jose while also acting as a regular fourth lane during non-carpool hours (think weekend games).
According to the California Transportation Commission's documentation, neither project would have a bid awarded until late 2011. Add 2-4 years to to build these enhancements and they'd probably miss the opening of the ballpark. When thinking of them in the long term, it can't be viewed as anything but a positive. Neither project will be fully funded by state money alone, but needing to get only a few million as opposed to a few hundred million is a major victory.
San Jose's Ballpark EIR was certified Wednesday night, setting the stage for SJ to be Wolff's shoulder to cry on if the Pacific Commons site falls apart. Yes it's moot and futile, but you never know what could happen. *cue the conspiracy theorists*
A Quakes-SJSU-San Jose partnership could result in an announcement within the next two months about a new Spartan Stadium. In the KLIV interview Wolff said he felt good about the response from the university and city. Financing would occur through a plan similar to the ballpark village, except that it would be smaller and not necessarily integrated with the venue.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Two points I would make:
First, the BART thing seems so muddled. Here is some funding here but not enough there. They need this agency to do this but have a new guy over in this agency. To me the question boils down to, is there any way at all BART can come to Warm Springs without being part of the SJ extension AND can this thing be built without a a sales tax hike in SJ?
Second, as a Warm Springs resident I tend to believe with all the additions mentioned in this article and all the additions currently happening at the big choke point (Mission/880), traffic probably is not going to be a deal breaker. My suspicion is how Wolff structures the deal with Fremont is whether this gets done or not. It's the financing not the traffic....

Anonymous said...

What is the sentiment of locals on the move from Oakland to Fremont?

I work in political consultancy and travel a lot though I was born and raised in the Bay Area with deep ties to Oakland, in particular.

From out here in the desert, where I currently am, it seems like I am the only one that is adamantly opposed to moving the A's to Fremont.

Furthermore, call me a baseball purist but this continuation of Art Moreno's "of [city]" has got to stop. I heard Lew Wolff will have something like the "Silicon Valley Athletics of Fremont" or something crazy like that.

This is ridiculous and I just do not get the sense that people other than myself are angry about it.

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:59,

Are your feelings about the name strong enough for you to stop supporting the team?

For most people, the answer is no. Sure they're annoyed but fans will still support the team and/or the community it represents. And "community" generally goes beyond the city limits of a particular town.

Problem is that there are a handful of Oakland and San Jose supporters so fixated on either city limits or city name that they give the impression of speaking for the majority....

....they don't.

Anonymous said...

you may get the impression that you are in the only one who is opposed to the a's movie to fremont based on internet response, but the problem with that is most "internet fans" go to very few games and have litte attachment to the team itself. Most other fans who dont post much on the internet but still go to games are opposed to the move. And its not just an oakland thing either, ive talked to peope in Castro Valley, Pleasonton, Livermore, Tracy, Berekely, San Francisco, San Leandro, Hayward, Sacramento, Chico, LA, Long Beach and other cites all over the state and country that are very dissapointed in the fremont plan.

Marine Layer said...

If there's an actual study or survey with real quantifiable results, I'll be happy to devote a post to it. It's bad enough when statistics get skewed towards one viewpoint or another. Submitting a smattering of opinions as fact is even worse.

Anonymous said...

"Most other fans who dont post much on the internet but still go to games are opposed to the move."

Uhhhhhhh LINK, please. I doubt it, I truly do. Just because you wish it were so does not, in fact, make it so.

Anonymous said...

I agree with linus. Most folks I've spoken to that go to alot of games DO NOT support the proposed move to fremont. The folks who live in the northern bay area that commute on BART are naturally opposed to this as it adds a huge amount of TIME, MONEY and INCONVENIENCE to their commute. Those in the south bay don't really care that much since most I've talked to are Giants fans who aren't going to change allegiences. Even some folks I've talked to from Fremont and Hayward are not in favor of this monstrosity in their own backyard due to the huge amount of traffic and taxpayer subsidies that no doubt will be entailed with this project. But what does wolff care about inconvenience, time and money when it's not involving his outlay, but rather his patrons. All he cares about is making a quick buck on the real estate development then pocketing the money and selling the team.

Anonymous said...

12:37, good to see that you can see into the mind of Lew Wolfe.

I go to a lot of games myself, and a lot of folks I have talked to are in favor of the project, and cant wait to see our lads playing in a state of the art ballpark, making it possible to have our lads remain our lads.

Let me know when Lew is ready to sell the team, since you seem to know...

Jeffrey said...

I have talked ot plenty of people as well... there is not a ground swell of opposition that I have come across. Most folks I know who go to A's games have no connection to Oakland (other than the A's) and don't care where they play as long as it is in Northern Ca.

Working off North First Street in San Jose, I can also add that most folks in that area that I have talked to are excited about a ball park 3 miles away. With Cisco's name tied to it, there will be no problem generating support from the corporate "fan."

But like marine layer said... show me a scientific poll on the subject and I'll believe there is a stay in oakland sentiment if it bears out.

SexFlavoredPez said...

I currntly live in Hayward and plan on moving to Fremont in the next few months. I currently ride the BART to the coliseum for every game since I'm within walking distance of the nearest station. I love the convenience of the public transpostation so readily availabe for game day. However, with the move to Fremont, I'm not crying my eyes out over the fact that I'll have to drive to a game. I work in north San Jose, not too far from Jeffrey actually (N1 and Montague), and I love the idea of my afternoon commute involving a stop at the stadium to catch a game. With that being said I'd love to catch the opinions of the fans attending games when the season starts.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I don't post often on internet sites, I live in Castro valley, I am a season ticket holder and attend 35-40 games per year. Though I would like a downtown stadium with great access by bart and freway, Oakland just won't be able to do it. The coliseum is not designed for baseball. Go Fremont! I'll be there!!!

young tone said...

actually you wont be there because tickets will be all gone with corporations getting them at least for the first couple of years (look at Pac Bell). And it'll be harder for blue collar fans who live and die by the team, like myself, to get a ticket for Cisco Field. I am for the move, only if we keep our name the way it is. I bet ur a** that they'll succeed the first few years but after a while Wolff will want us blue collar fans back to fill the seats and that Silicon Valley label will not work for us. I think by keeping the name and even adding the "at Fremont" at the end will satisfy all fans on both sides of the arguement. "Lets Go To Fremont, but Lets Stay Oakland"

Anonymous said...

3 miles away????

You're as delusional as wolff is.

Jeffrey said...

It's 9 miles. I didn't mean 3... brain fart.

Anonymous said...

I asked my Dad (specifically to post his response on here), who is a season ticket holder, what he, and the people he goes to the A's games with, think about this move to Fremont. He said everyone he has talked to is for it. This is the brentwood/discovery bay/Livermore area they are from. Some of the reasons why they are for it: A newer/better ball park in general, more money to retain players,less foul territory on the field, no raiders games messing up the grass, in a nicer area where there will be a lot more things to do/places to eat right next to the stadium. Stated concerns: what will it do to the cost of tickets, what will the transportation access to the park be like.
I realize this is not scientific at all. However, I think you'll find this bunch is relatively representative of the average A's fan (statistically speaking and not in opinion of the new park necessarily)

Jeffrey said...

Well, I had my first conversation with a person who was not in favor fo the move yesterday. The reason was strange to me... They live in Concord and when someone form another part of the country asks, "Where is Concord, CA?" he responds, "Do you know where Oakland is?" and if they do, he says it is close to Oakland. Now he will have to say San Francisco, because no one knows where Fremont is.

I suggested he just say, in the Bay Area.

Anonymous said...

Why doesn't he just continue to say Oakland? The city's not going anywhere, just because the baseball team is. If they know where Oakland is now, they're not going to suddenly forget once Cisco field is built. The Raiders give Oakland a lot more national visibility than the A's anyway.