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Fremont will consider a pitch for A's
City may look into viability as a host should team's focus shift from Oakland to rest of county
By Scott Wong
The Oakland Tribune

If the city of Oakland drops the ball on a deal for a new A's ballpark village, Fremont wants to be in a good position to scoop up the opportunity.

City Council members at 7 tonight will consider launching Fremont's first formal effort to lure the A's to town should negotiations with Oakland fail.

If the council decides to move ahead, a consultant would conduct a study to consider land availability, costs and economic benefits to the city.

Earlier this year, A's managing partner Lew Wolff unveiled a plan to build a $300 million to $400 million ballpark development on about 100 acres between 66th Avenue and High Street in Oakland. It would feature a 35,000-seat baseball-only stadium surrounded by a residential and retail development.

But the site is proving difficult. More than 100 property owners are in the area, and the land has been assessed at close to $110 million.

Fremont Mayor Bob Wasserman, who attended the presentation and briefly spoke with the Los Angeles hotel developer, said Fremont and Wolff share similar development goals.

"What we want is pretty much in line with what he wants," Wasserman said Monday. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If the possibility is there, we need to be able to jump at it."

Since 1968, the A's have played at what is now known as McAfee Coliseum, which the team shares with the Oakland Raiders. Although he has stated his displeasure with the current facility, Wolff has made it clear he is focused right now on keeping the team in Oakland.

"We are still working very hard to stay in Oakland," he said Monday in a phone interview from Los Angeles. "We haven't drawn any conclusions yet. Our first choice is Oakland, our second is the Coliseum area, and our third is somewhere in Alameda County."

Wasserman said he thinks that "somewhere" could be Fremont. Many believe the city has a good shot at attracting the A'sbecause of its location and land availability.

Two large sites for a Fremont ballpark have emerged in recent years. One is a 143-acre vacant parcel in the heart of Pacific Commons, a new retail center off Auto Mall Parkway, just west of Interstate 880.

The more likely option is General Motors' 107-acre lot, just north of the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant. A stadium at the GM location still would attract a fan base from the East Bay while serving as a big draw for Silicon Valley corporations, county Supervisor Scott Haggerty has said.

Haggerty, whose district includes most of Fremont, added that the property offers great transportation options, sitting between interstates 680 and 880 and near the planned Warm Springs BART station.

Supervisor Gail Steele, president of the agency that oversees the Oakland Arena and Coliseum facilities, said she'd be interested to see what the Fremont study finds. But she doesn't want outside pressure to lead to a poor and hastily made decision.

"Everyone wants to keep the ballclub in Alameda County, but it's a little frustrating because everyone is pushing from every direction," said Steele, whose district includes Union City, Newark and north Fremont. "The hurry-up-and-make-a-decision attitude makes me nervous, and I don't think it's a good idea to hurry up too much."

Staff writer Scott Wong can be reached at (510) 353-7002 or swong@angnewspapers.com.

I'll be at the meeting tonight. The BART station will be a big factor, since federal funding for it did not materialize in the recent transportation bill.