Words like 'doom' can't be good
12:20 PM -- Because I don't spend my mornings reading the sports page (Light Reading bosses, take note) I didn't spot this SF Chronicle brief until Friday night:
Oakland Athletics officials today asked the City of Fremont to halt the planning process required to build a new stadium and move the team there, saying they want to reconsider their options.
This was followed on Saturday by the Mercury News headline, "A's Plans for Fremont Stadium Appear Headed for Doom":
A's owner Lew Wolff on Saturday refused to officially declare dead plans to build a $500 million, 32,000-seat stadium in Fremont, but he indicated the team is seriously considering a withdrawal.
The new stadium in question is Cisco Field, of course, which originally was to be built on land that Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) happened to be leasing. (See Two Strikes on Cisco.) Distance from public transportation, among other factors, moved the plan to a second Fremont site, and that's the one that's facing "Doom."
What's important to Cisco isn't the land under the stadium, but the Cisco Field dream, which involves a techno-wired ballpark that can serve as a living infomercial for the power of Cisco products. Rumor has it they'll play baseball there, too. (See Cisco's Field of Dreams.)
That dream keeps getting bricked like a modified iPhone, with the stadium opening, originally slated for 2010, now pushed to 2014. Granted, the latest delay is related to the current Fremont site; a new site could put Cisco Field back on the fast track to 2012.
If you actually care about any of this, the Merc has consolidated its A's ballpark coverage here. Separately, a fan has been running a blog on the topic.
— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading
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