stadiums

smazza · November 9, 2006

A's Team With Cisco for New Ballpark

6:44 AM PST, November 9, 2006

FREMONT, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics reached a deal with Cisco Systems Inc. to build a new ballpark in Fremont, according to city officials who met with the team's owner.

The agreement would create a 32,000- to 35,000-seat ballpark, to be dubbed Cisco Field, on a 143-acre parcel held by the company, officials told the San Jose Mercury News. If the plan is approved by the city, the A's could begin playing in Fremont -- 20 miles south of Oakland -- as soon as 2011, the newspaper reported.

A formal announcement of the deal is planned for next Tuesday at Cisco's San Jose headquarters.

A's owner Lew Wolff declined to speak to reporters Wednesday as he left a meeting with four Fremont City Council members. Cisco officials also declined to comment.

Team spokesman Jim Young has said the A's won't comment until an announcement is made.

There's also a possibility the team could be renamed. Wolff offered "Fremont A's" and "Silicon Valley A's" as possibilities, council members told the newspaper.

"They have an interest in having a good, clear identity, probably a regional one. We have an interest in the name Fremont. There's a feeling we'll try to accommodate both of those," Mayor Bob Wasserman said.

The deal is contingent on the city approving a large-scale development plan for the ballpark, which will be surrounded by homes and shops on the parcel west of Interstate 880. Cisco holds a 34-year lease on the land, and has the option to buy the property in the next three years.

Wolff told city officials that the proposed Cisco Field "is going to be the most modern, most advanced technological facility in the country," said Fremont Councilman Bob Wieckowski, who attended Wednesday's meeting.

Wolff did not indicate when he planned to submit an application to the city for development -- which would prompt a review process that could take two years -- although council members said they expected to receive one shortly after next week's planned announcement, the Mercury News reported.