Oakland A's to be Fremont A's in 2011?

Slim · 11-10-2006, 02:00 PM

Quote:

OAKLAND -- The A's remain mum publicly on their reported move to Fremont, Calif., and a deal with Cisco Systems to build a new state-of-the-art ballpark with private financing.
Fremont city officials who met with A's managing partner Lew Wolff on Wednesday, however, told the San Jose Mercury News that the team could be playing in the new park -- and with a new name -- as soon as 2011, and confirmed earlier reports that the A's will announce their plans next Tuesday at Cisco's San Jose headquarters.

Wolff and Cisco officials declined to speak with reporters on Wednesday after Wolff met with four members of the Fremont City Council, and A's public relations director Jim Young said the club won't comment until a formal announcement is made.

But the Mercury News reported that Wolff went so far as to propose "Fremont A's" and "Silicon Valley A's" to the council as names for the relocated club.

Fremont is located about 25 miles south of Oakland and 15 miles north of San Jose -- where Wolff opened an office on Wednesday as part of his plan to bring a Major League Soccer team to the city. With the San Francisco Giants holding territorial baseball rights to San Jose, the A's had to look to for stadium sites elsewhere.

"[The A's] have an interest in having a good, clear identity -- probably a regional one," Mayor Bob Wasserman told the newspaper. "We have an interest in the name 'Fremont.' There's a feeling we'll try to accommodate both of those."

Wolff's ballpark agreement with Cisco would create a 32,000- to 35,000-seat ballpark dubbed Cisco Field on a 143-acre parcel held by the company, city officials said. If the plan is approved by the city, the A's could open the 2011 season there.

According to the Mercury News, the deal is contingent on the city approving a large-scale development plan for the ballpark, which will be surrounded by homes and shops on the parcel west of Interstate 880. Cisco holds a 34-year lease on the land, and has the option to buy the property in the next three years.

Wolff told city officials that the proposed Cisco Field "is going to be the most modern, most advanced technological facility in the country," said Fremont councilman Bob Wieckowski.

Wolff did not indicate when he planned to submit an application to the city for development, which would trigger a review process that could take two years, but council members said they expected to receive one shortly after next week's planned announcement.

The A's currently are tenants in McAfee Coliseum, which they share with the National Football League's Oakland Raiders, on a year-to-year lease that runs through 2010, with options for annual renewals through 2013.

Wolff and John Fisher, the principal owners of the A's, purchased an exclusive option earlier this year to acquire an MLS team in the Bay Area. As part of the exclusive option agreement, the A's ownership group has three years to develop a soccer-specific stadium and purchase an MLS team.

hmmm, Now only if the Raiders would get out of Oakland and go to L.A.....

Oakland A's to be Fremont A's in 2011?

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