« The future of San Jose is in David Beckham??? | Main | Mark your calendars... »
May 11, 2007
Congratulations, A's!
We at SSV want to send our congratulations to the A's on passing another milestone on their way to a new ballpark in Fremont. Yesterday, the A's announced that they have "completed the land transaction and control 226-acres of land in the City of Fremont where the new Cisco Field ballpark and the urban village will be built." That's a big step!
We also think that the A's proposal provides an interesting perspective on what is happening with the Earthquakes in San Jose. Specifically, yesterday's A's press release notes that the team will "continue to work with the City staff on the steps necessary to commence the public application process."
Yes, that's right—the public application process hasn't even begun and they're already working with City of Fremont staff. Yet despite the fact that it's been almost six months since the A's first announced their plans for Cisco Field and the A's have presumably been working with city staff during that time, we've seen no hysteria about back-room deals like the Mercury News seems so frightened of with the Earthquakes in San Jose. It's almost like the people of Fremont recognize that a developer may require input from city staff in order to put together a comprehensive proposal for a $500 million project.
As we observed when the Mercury News was clamoring for a public announcement about the SJSU/Earthquakes negotiations, creating projects like this require a lot of work and communication before there's even a firm proposal on the table. Now that the A's proposal is almost complete, the time for public review and comment has nearly arrived in Fremont. In San Jose, let's hope the Mercury News steps back and provides space for the city's staff to do their jobs as the Earthquakes work towards their own stadium project. There will be plenty of time for public input, and then San Jose's elected officials will have the final say.
But we digress. To get back to the main point, we once again extend our congratulations to the A's on this great milestone. As you might expect, this announcement is getting wide press coverage, including articles in the Chronicle and the Mercury News.
Posted by Jay at May 11, 2007 07:30 AM