Cisco Field - Oakland A's tickets

Cisco Field

Artist rendering of Cisco Field

Fremont, California

Tenant: Oakland Athletics (AL)
Opening: 2012 (projected)
Status: Cancelled in February 2009
Style: Open air
Capacity: 35,000 (estimated)
Surface: Grass

Architects: 360 Architecture & Gensler Architecture
Construction: Undetermined
Owner: Oakland Athletics
Cost: $400 million - $500 million (excluding land)
Financing: Private funds with some government assistance

Oakland Athletics tickets:

Location: On a 143-acre parcel near Fremont's Pacific Commons shopping center. It is bordered by Cushing Parkway on the southeast and southwest, the Nimitz Freeway (I-880) on the northeast and Bunche Drive, then Automall Parkway on the northwest.

On November 14, 2006, the Athletics announce they had reached an agreement with Cisco Systems to purchase a 143-acre parcel of land in Fremont, California for the purpose of building a new ballpark there. The ballpark will be named Cisco Field as part of a 30-year naming rights agreement valued at $4 million annually. Cisco's technology will be used to enhance every part of the stadium, including ticketing, concessions and management of game day operations.

Groundbreaking on the project will begin when the A's get approval from the City of Fremont, Alameda County and other government agencies. The estimated cost of the ballpark is between $400-500 million (excluding land) and construction is expected to take between 24 and 36 months. Funding for the ballpark is expected to be a combination of private equity and public assistance.

Rendering of Cisco Field

On August 12, 2005, Athletics owner Lew Wolff proposed building a new ballpark for his team on a site just north of the Coliseum in Oakland. The proposal called for a 35,000-seat ballpark to be built as part of residential and retail park. The A's owners would have paid most of the estimated $300 million to $400 million cost of the park.

Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, as well as Coliseum board members, voiced approval for the plan. They said it promised to keep the team in Oakland and be an economic boon for East Oakland. However, De La Fuente favored a site close to downtown and near the Oakland Estuary.

Wolff preferred building the ballpark near the Coliseum because it is near the BART line. He wanted to see another BART station built next to the park, but the Coliseum station would have worked. The area would have to be rezoned for redevelopment, and several business would have to be relocated.

The city of Oakland had a strategy to revitalize its Uptown District, and the Oakland Athletics was a part of it. There appeared to be a consensus emerging on the best place for the Athletics to play, if they stayed in Oakland. Of the seven sites studied in a 2001 report handed out at the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) meeting on December 13, 2001, the most favorable was that in the Uptown District.

Other sites studied were:

  • Howard Terminal - On the waterfront, west of Jack London Square in Oakland.
  • Laney College - On a site bound by 8th Street, 5th Avenue, 10th Street and Lake Merritt Channel Park.
  • 9th to Oak - On the waterfront, between Oak Street and 9th Avenue.
  • Coliseum - In the northwest parking lot.
  • Fremont - At Fremont Boulevard and South Grimmor Boulevard.
  • Pleasanton - At the southwest corner of I-580 and El Charro Road.

San Jose has shown interest in bringing the Athletics to a site west of their downtown. The San Jose City Council voted in December 2004 to attempt to acquire the former Del Monte cannery site on Auzerais Avenue near Interstate 280 for a stadium. However, the San Francisco Giants have territorial rights to Santa Clara County, where San Jose is located, and there has been no indication that the team would be willing to give up those rights.

The Giants considered moving to San Jose in the early 1990s, but new ownership opted to build a ballpark in San Francisco instead. Since then, the Sharks NHL team has enjoyed enormous success in San Jose, and many believe it is an indication that a MLB franchise would be successful in the area.

Artist rendering of Cisco Field

Recent Articles on Cisco Field:

Recommended Reading (bibliography):

  • Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Tour of Baseball Parks Past and Present by Josh Leventhal and Jessica Macmurray.
  • The Ballpark Book: A Journey Through the Fields of Baseball Magic (Revised Edition) by Ron Smith and Kevin Belford.
  • Stadia: A Design and Development Guide by Geraint John and Rod Sheard.
  • City Baseball Magic: Plain Talk and Uncommon Sense about Cities and Baseball Parks by Philip Bess.
  • Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money into Private Profit (2nd Edition) by Joanna Cagan and Neil deMause.
  • Public Dollars, Private Stadiums: The Battle over Building Sports Stadiums by Kevin J. Delaney and Rick Eckstein.
  • Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums by Roger G. Noll and Andrew Zimbalist.

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Updated February 2009

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