A’s Reportedly Near Announcement Of Move To Fremont

A’s Reportedly Close To Announcing Potential Move To Fremont

The A’s “are ready to declare their intention to acquire the rights to a 143-acre site” in Fremont and “plan to announce that the site will be the preferred location for a baseball-only stadium, which the team hopes to construct without public financing,” according to sources cited by Matier & Ross of the S.F. CHRONICLE. An announcement is expected next week. Cisco, which leases the city-owned land, “is expected to cede control of the property” and is “likely to be a major sponsor of the ballpark and could have its name on the stadium.” A’s Dir of PR Jim Young would not confirm the news, but said, “We are getting closer to announcing some concrete plans that will significantly impact the future of the A’s.” Cisco would not comment. Matier & Ross note companies connected to the team “have been buying up property around” the proposed ballpark site, where the A’s “envision housing and retail developments around the ballpark that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and help cover the stadium’s estimated $300[M]-plus cost.” An announcement “clears the way for the team to seek approval of the land transfer from Fremont,” as well as to begin seeking approvals from the city, Alameda County and MLB. The A’s are playing at McAfee Coliseum on a year-to-year lease (S.F. CHRONICLE, 11/7).

REAX: Fremont officials said that they “will not negotiate the terms of a deal with the A’s until the team files a development application with the city.” Meanwhile, Oakland officials said that they “have no information about a potential move, but argued they did all they could to keep the team in town.” Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente: “A lot of my colleagues saw this from the beginning. Many thought [A’s Managing Partner Lew] Wolff was just saying (he wanted to stay in Oakland) to get a better deal” (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 11/7). But in Oakland, Dave Newhouse wonders, “Was it Wolff who’s most responsible? Or was it local politicians? Lean toward the latter, specifically outgoing mayor Jerry Brown. If you wish to hang the [A’s] flag at half staff, hang it in the mayor’s office” (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 11/7). In S.F., Ray Ratto examines the options available to the A’s and writes, “For baseball, and particularly the A’s, this is a mistake, and a potentially horrific one” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 11/7).