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A's owner Wolff buys prospective ballpark land in Fremont

By Paul T. Rosynsky and Chris De Benedetti
MEDIANEWS

OAKLAND - Oakland Athletics owner Lewis Wolff has bought at least three parcels in Fremont next to a site the team has targeted for a new ballpark.

"We have been purchasing land in the area," Wolff said. "If we go down there, we want to make sure we have enough land."

The lots, about 10 acres total, are on Brandin Court along Interstate 880. They are adjacent to a vacant, 143-acre site the A's have said would be ideal for a new ballpark.

Although Wolff acknowledged his company has purchased the land, he refused to say whether the team would eventually relocate to Fremont.

"We just want to be able to control some land around it for planning reasons,'' Wolff said. "What we are buying is real estate that is pretty valuable, whether we build a ballpark or not."

Wolff admitted late Tuesday he bought the land, after the Oakland Tribune looked up property records showing a connection between him and a company that bought the land in July.

County records show the land was bought in July by Brandin Court Partners, LLC, a company formed on the same day as the land purchase. The assessed value of all three parcels two have a building on each and one has a paved parking lot is $5.9 million.

County records list Brandin Court Partners' mailing address as 11828 La Grange Ave., Los Angeles. Wolff's real estate firm, Maritz, Wolff and Co., has a headquarters at the same address.

When originally contacted, Wolff would not comment on the land purchase or the team's future location. His office assistant, who relayed a reporter's message asking about a potential connection between the company and the A's owner, said Wolff laughed and replied, "That is an interesting coincidence."

Several hours later, Wolff returned a phone call to say his company had purchased the lots. Asked why he did not list his name or that of his company, Wolff said, "The more we announce it, the more expensive it gets.

"We would be stupid to do that," Wolff added.

Wolff said he is not personally involved in the transactions and has not seen the property, but was assured the land would be valuable no matter what happens in the future.

Fremont city officials refused to discuss the land purchase on Brandin Court.

"You're going to have to ask Lew Wolff about that," said City Manager Fred Diaz.

Speculation that the team would build a ballpark in Fremont intensified the day Wolff was hired by former owners Steve Schott and Ken Hoffman as vice president of venue development.

Although Wolff promised to search for sites in Oakland first, he never gave up the idea of building a ballpark in Fremont. Its proximity to San Jose and open tracts of land always kept it a contender as a future A's home.

Then in March, Wolff declared that Oakland did not have the time or space for a new ballpark.

While two sites in Fremont have always been mentioned as a possible home, the 143-acre parcel at the corner of Auto Mall Parkway and I-880 has drawn the most attention. The land is leased by Cisco Systems Inc., which originally considered building a campus there. But the dot-com bust killed those plans and the land remained vacant.

Its use as a ballpark fits Wolff's vision of building a ballpark village complete with housing, retail stores and entertainment venues. The only drawback is its distance from public transportation, although a shuttle to a future BART station has been mentioned. The potential purchase of land around the site could be part of Wolff's plan to surround a new ballpark with other amenities.

Cisco Systems spokesperson Abby Smith declined to comment on negotiations between the company and the A's over the 143-acre site. Cisco Systems has a 34-year lease on the land.

"Obviously, their intent (for a new ballpark) is focused on Fremont,'' Diaz said. "We have lots to talk about, and that is imminent."