Field of Schemes
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November 06, 2006

A's Fremont move imminent?

Oakland A's sources have told San Francisco's KCBS that the team has reached a deal to build a 40,000-seat stadium in Fremont, south of Oakland in the East Bay. An announcement, KCBS reported tonight, will come "soon."

Aside from the question of when "soon" might be, there are many other unknowns about the deal: What will it cost? Who will pay for it? What kind of development rights will A's owner Lew Wolff demand for the stadiumside condos he wants to build, and will he try to sneak in any other public costs? Did the A's agree to the city of Fremont's demand to pay for the added fire and police services a stadium would require? How will anyone get to the games if the region doesn't build a BART extension?

And, last but not least: Would they be called the Oakland A's, the San Jose A's, or the California Golden Seals?

COMMENTS

40,000 seats? That's a bit small.

I wonder if scarcity pricing will ever enter into the stadium debate. Building a 40K capacity stadium in place of a 50K stadium means 820,000 fewer people can attend games over the course of a season. How is that in the public interest?

Posted by joejoejoe on November 7, 2006 12:52 AM

810,000 fewer people = 10K fewer seats X 81 home games

I've got the basketball season on my mind (82 games).

Posted by joejoejoe on November 7, 2006 12:55 AM

"Aside from the question of when "soon" might be, there are many other unknowns about the deal..."

And these are just the "known unknowns."

Posted by johnw on November 7, 2006 02:12 AM

"40,000 seats? That's a bit small.

I wonder if scarcity pricing will ever enter into the stadium debate. Building a 40K capacity stadium in place of a 50K stadium means 820,000 fewer people can attend games over the course of a season. How is that in the public interest?"

The A's average attendance was 24,402, so the loss in seats will make the stadium look fuller than it would have been. Plus, decreased supply + same/increase in demand= more revenue.

Posted by mike on November 8, 2006 02:53 PM

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