Revisiting a Pipe Dream? New Oakland Ballpark Renderings Surface

I believe the ongoing saga surrounding the Oakland Athletics and their quest for a new home has to be taking place in some kind of Inception dream within a dream universe, that has to be the only explanation for the path it has taken.  I’ve come to the conclusion that the Blue Ribbon Committee that is supposed to decide on the team’s wishes to move to San Jose is simply another arm of the Department of Redundancy Department.  I say this because whenever there’s something “new” to report, it all leads back to the same statement.  We still know nothing, other than the fact that they still need to get out of the Coliseum.

October 4, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; General view of the national anthem before game one of the American League divisional series playoff baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Detroit Tigers at O.co Coliseum. The Tigers defeated Athletics 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The battle within this mess has been between those who wish to move the A’s to San Jose, and those who wish to keep the team in Oakland at all costs.  I fall in the middle, I want them in Oakland, but I’d take them in San Jose over being gone altogether.

Matier and Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle published a column this morning that stated there was some gaining traction for the Howard Terminal site.  The column included some new artist renderings of the stadium site, which incorporates the existing cranes used at the Port of Oakland.  The waterfront ballpark has been described by some as “AT&T Park with cranes.”

Nobody really knows if there’s any legitimacy to the possibility of this becoming a reality.  With Lew Wolff and John Fisher in control, nothing will happen without their approval, and they still seem hell bent on San Jose.  If Clorox CEO Don Knauss can assemble a group that can pack enough of a punch to either scare Wolff and Fisher into exploring Oakland again, or pry the A’s away from their grasp, there might be some hope for Oakland.  If not, then sadly these renderings will go by the wayside along with the Fremont Cisco Field drawings from once upon a time as just another pipe dream.