OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS) -- The Athletics will play in Fremont, at the still to be constructed Cisco Field stadium, team owner Lew Wolff announced on Tuesday.
A 36,000 seat venue and a surrounding retail complex is planned on a 143-acre site owned by Fremont and leased to Cisco Systems.
Lew Wolff makes the announcement
The company’s Chief Operating Officer, John Chambers, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, and an assortment of Fremont city officials were on hand for the announcement in San Jose.
The formal announcement did not solve the question of what the relocated Athletics would be called. Options bandied about since word of the announcement was made public last week include the Silicon Valley A’s and the San Jose A’s.
“It will be a business and marketing decision by Mr. Wolff and his people as to what they do,” said San Jose Mayor-Elect Chuck Reed. “It’s good for San Jose to have a baseball team playing in Fremont. It’s certainly good for our largest employer, Cisco.”
Cisco, which has an option to buy the Pacific Commons site along Interstate 880 near Auto Mall Parkway, plans to install interactive technology enabling fans inside the stadium to order food and view player stats.
Reaction in Oakland was muted, with city officials saying they have given up on trying to entice the team to stay, a stance that has frustrated many diehard fans.
KCBS’s George Harris reports from the Alameda County Bureau
Wolff expects his team to be playing in the stadium at the start of the 2012 season, although the plan has not been fully approved by the League or the City of Fremont.
Additional Resources
A number of fan websites have sprung up since KCBS’s Steve Bitker broke the news that another sports team intended to head south. Even over the summer, fans rallied behind the cause of keeping the team in the city with tail gate parties and other events.
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