Hello A's fans. I am a devoted fan living outside of the Bay Area. I have been following the stories, interviews with Wolff, etc regarding the future location of an A's ballpark. There is a point of contention I have with Wolff and those who suggest San Jose is the only option for the team.

I have a good sense of geography of the United States thus I am not a rube when it comes to these matters. My take is that the East Bay is a more logical spot for a ballpark/ team thatn San Jose.

Yes, the city of San Jose is bigger and wealthier than Oakland. Furthermore, I am aware of all of the political and crime problems in Oakland. However, San Jose is on the far end of the metro area and I believe that in the long run, large numbers of fans will not travel there.

The Colliseum is closer to the following regions in California (San Francisco, Napa, Marin Co, Contra Costa Co, Sacramento). These population centers are significant and will see a drop in attendance from the people in these regions.

Also, the area south of San Jose is pretty much unpopulated.

I think the main reason MLB is not pushing for San Jose is this reason. Wolff keeps hitting on the fact that San Jose is larger and growing but once you get out of the immediate area the places are either

a) lower populated.

b) closer to the coliseum

c) about even in distance to the coliseum.

I really think some more options in the east bay should be explored. I really think that the Fremont idea was not that bad. It is relatively close to both cities.

Wherever the ballpark is built I am sure it will draw a great crowd for the first several years as anything would beat the current football focused stadium. In the long term though, I think the East Bay is a better choice than San Jose.