Thinking About A New Stadium in Oakland

by LiveAdam on Mar 12, 2005 12:28 PM PST

Now that the new ownership team of John Fischer and the Wolffs is coming to a head, most of the talk is about a new stadium. I've read articles that have discussed locations throughout the Oakland/Alameda area from downtown Oakland, the Colesium parking lot, and most recently somewhere along the Nimitz freeway between 66th and 98th streets, in a new, city council approved, redevelopment project.

With this in mind I have two questions for all of you:

What things do you expect out of a new baseball-only stadium in Oakland? Parking, BART access, etc.
What would you want the stadium to look like? Camden Yards and SBC Park have a very nice vintage looks, but I'm sure we don't want to make clones of those ballparks. If you were building a new stadium, what things would you incorporate?

-Adam

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Definitely

Bart or some form of public transportation must be there. MUST. Parking should be there too. One thing the NEt doesnt have is surrounding area. If it's part of a bigger project, thats already better.

Peace up, A-Town Down (A town being Albany California, not Atlanta)

by ohad on Mar 12, 2005 12:39 PM PST reply actions

Good News: Wolff has already hired some architects

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_2606019

OAKLAND -- Planning for a new Oakland Athletics ballpark has already begun, incoming team owner Lewis Wolff said Friday, and his ownership group has hired three internationally renowned architects to help design one.
At a meeting of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, which voted to transfer its lease with the team to Wolff and his partners, the Los Angeles-based hotel magnate said "our focus, if people believe it or not, is right here."

And for the first time, Wolff said his group is interested in building more than just a ballpark at the Coliseum site. He outlined in more detail than before the development potential he sees around the Coliseum and BART station.

To help design that plan, the 67-year-old billionaire said his investment firm hired Santa Monica-based Gensler Architects and two well-known ballpark designers.

"If we can expand around here, life is very simple," Wolff said about the Coliseum complex and surrounding area. "The A's may very well be a factor in accelerating the development here."

Gensler, a 40-year-old firm with offices spanning the globe, has worked on such high-profile projects as the Toys "R" Us building in New York's Times Square, the Seattle and Las Vegas monorail systems and the Palm Springs International Airport expansion.

Wolff did not name the two ballpark design firms hired, but speculation is one could be HOK Architects, which has designed several new ballparks including Camden Yards in Baltimore and SBC Park in San Francisco.

by gotgreen on Mar 12, 2005 12:59 PM PST reply actions

it's all happening

now just sit back

by mcbronsh on Mar 12, 2005 2:35 PM PST reply actions

ice plant...

i would really really love to see a new stadium built and some ice plant grown along the fence in the outfield, like the old coliseum...

BART is a must...and AC Transit too for those of us who live too close to take BART.

by high street on Mar 12, 2005 3:19 PM PST reply actions

ice plants in CF

would be exactly the personality that the park would need. I miss those ice plants so much.

by Athletics fan and runner on Mar 12, 2005 4:58 PM PST up reply actions

me too...

and i also really enjoyed the view of the oakland hills....

by high street on Mar 12, 2005 5:15 PM PST up reply actions

Cut a Gem

If the A's are able to build a stadium in Oakland, they ought to follow the example of the Giants by pulling together every possible advantage the city of Oakland has to offer and build a ballpark marvel. What's the point of anything less? In this day and age it's expected and to some degree or another most of the recent ballparks appear to have succeeded. The closer it is to the bay, the more incredible the stage.
BART, bay and a unique architecture would combine nicely with the beautiful east bay weather and create a greater sense of rivalry. What an absolute failure to finally get a park built, only to end up with something less than the one just across the bay.

If it's broken, fix it.

by Bosnian on Mar 12, 2005 4:10 PM PST reply actions

some combination of PETCO, SBC, and camden yards

nice to have a vintage style park, with the perks of the area, but you don't want to copy them all and try to make them old fashioned, but you don't go with garbage new like in cincinatti or at us cell.

love, mike in canada

by oakland ehs on Mar 12, 2005 4:18 PM PST reply actions

My answers

High ticket prices and a mall/theme-park atmosphere.
I think the Jack-London-in-the-Klondike theme would be pretty cool- make the stadium look like the whole thing is made out of logs.

"You can throw your cocks if I don't care!" - Iggy Pop

by AlamedaAphid on Mar 12, 2005 5:11 PM PST reply actions

Talk to the 49ers . . .

. . . about your answers. do we need a Disneyland athmosphere? We can bring back Findley's mule.

Jim

by jarforcefatherofforce on Mar 12, 2005 5:17 PM PST up reply actions

The uptown proposal would have been amazing

Building a vintage styled park in the heart of down town oakland, right off the bart line, would have been my dream come true. As it is now I'll be thankful if any stadium gets built in Oakland.

by kvn on Mar 12, 2005 5:23 PM PST reply actions

Went to Anahiem for an A's Angles game in 2004

Anaheim is the only other baseball stadium I have to compare to the Coliseum. I am such an A's fan that in 22 years in the East Bay, and my parents still living there I never went to an Gnats game. Have home plate face the Oakland hils. Make sure the infield seats have a good view of the hills. That is one of the strengths of Anaheim with the view of the hills to the south.

The other thing about Anaheim compared to the Coliseum is that there don't seem to be any "bad" seats. Sitting in the second deck still puts you very close to the action.

Then, to kick Anaheim's butt get the land around the BART station and put in a major development their. Restaurants, shopping, etc... Then, you take BART to the game, eat around BART, walk over to the game, walk back and hang out around BART again. While there is lots to do around Anaheim, it is typical southern california where you have to drive to anything interesting.

by Donner on Mar 12, 2005 8:22 PM PST reply actions

Something Different

The HOK design style is getting a little tiresome...too many of their ballparks look alike. I'd like to see something that feels more open than a lot of the newer parks, which all seem derivative of Ebbets Field. How about something like the old Oaks stadium in Emeryville? From the pictures I've seen, it looks like a great old park.

by Mission1929 on Mar 13, 2005 3:27 PM PST reply actions

New A's Ballpark Blog

I've created a blog to keep track of news and discuss financing of a new A's ballpark:

http://newballpark.blogspot.com/

It currently has a mockup of what a 40,000-seat ballpark would look like on the Coliseum South/Hegenberger property. It'll eventually have different designs and a wish list.

by vertig0 on Mar 15, 2005 11:39 AM PST reply actions