June 06, 2006

Fremont to A's: Bring your own cops

Don't start saving up for those Fremont A's season-ticket plans just yet. The city of Fremont, realizing that policing a major-league baseball game requires more officers than they currently have patrol in the entire city at any one time, have told the A's owners that the team would have to kick in for police, fire, and transportation services if it wants to build a stadium in town. "Our police and fire departments are stretched beyond thin right now, and our services have been dysfunctional at best for years," city manager Fred Diaz told the Tri-Valley Herald. "All of [those services] will have to be paid for by the stadium deal." A's officials refused to comment on ongoing stadium negotiations, so it's too soon to tell whether this could make the whole Fremont gamble too rich for owner/developer Lew Wolff's blood.