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Fremont reaches out to the A's

Council's decision reaffirms shift to proactive approach to lure professional sports team

By Scott Wong, STAFF WRITER


FREMONT -- A week after extending a hand to the San Jose Earthquakes, City Council members are offering the other hand to the Oakland A's.

Council members on Tuesday night asked Mayor Gus Morrison to contact county Supervisor Scott Haggerty to see whether the A's -- who are looking for a new ballpark -- have any interest in moving to Fremont.

Last week, council members instructed city staff members to contact Catellus Development Corp., which owns a 143-acre site near Interstate 880 at Auto Mall Parkway, to measure its interest in building a soccer complex for the Earthquakes, who also are shopping for a new stadium.

"We need to put both (options) in play to see where this is going," Councilmember Bill Pease said. Bringing the A's into the equation would promote healthy competition, he added.

The council wants Haggerty, an outspoken proponent of a Fremont ballpark, to arrange face-to-face talks with the A's. The supervisor serves on the commission that oversees Networks Associates Coliseum, where the A's have played since 1968.

But Councilmember Dominic Dutra argued against Pease's proposal, saying initiating contact with the A's would send a "mixed message" to the Earthquakes that could drive away the defending Major League Soccer champs.

City Manager Jan Perkins said she has held conversations with officials from both the Earthquakes and Catellus regarding the city's interest in building a soccer stadium in town. More talks are planned, she said.

Fremont's decision to pursue discussions with the A's comes days before the Port of Oakland is expected to lease Howard Terminal -- the last piece of viable land for a waterfront stadium in Oakland -- to a shipping company for 25 years.

Interest in moving the A's to Fremont peaked after a vacant 107-acre parcel -- in the Warm Springs district between New United Motors Manufacturing Inc. and South Grimmer Boulevard -- was identified in a 2002 consultant's study as one of the most suitable sites in the East Bay for a new ballpark.

That site -- between interstates 680 and 880 and near the site of the planned Warm Springs BART station -- ranked higher than Howard Terminal, but behind two other Oakland sites: a 12.5-acre parcel uptown, now planned for a mixed housing and retail development, and the parking lot next to the existing Coliseum.

A ballpark in Fremont would cost about $465 million to build, in addition to $70 million needed to acquire the land, according to the HOK Sport study.

But with public agencies short on funds, the question of who would finance a stadium -- or stadiums -- still remains.

Councilmembers reiterated that Fremont has no public money to invest in such projects.

"This venture should not cost the taxpayers of Fremont a penny," Vice Mayor Steve Cho said.

Despite spirited objections from Pease, Morrison volunteered to serve as the city's delegate to the A's, in place of city staff members. But the mayor, who often has expressed skepticism about bringing a professional sports team to town, said approaching the A's makes the city appear desperate.

"It's like it's Saturday night, and you're waiting for your date, and then you have to call your date," Morrison said. "It's like you're desperate."

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Super Bowl's Over. It's Time To Play Ball And Bring The Expos Home.