RIP Golden Gate Fields

Down the stretch they come ... one last time.
Berkeley, Albany consider what's next for Golden Gate Fields: 'We are going to think big!'

 

That couldn't be any windier than Candlestick. And it already has a grandstand. Put the A's there.

 

That would involve some billionaires spending their own money, and we can't have that.

 

Legalized casino gambling kills horse racing economically. The consumer who likes to gamble can get a lot faster gratification in a casino than waiting for each race to be run. That only leaves the handful of consumers who actually care about the sport itself to support the track.

I think that eventually there will be about six tracks nationwide that will televise races and have on=line betting.

 

Looking back with 40-50 years hindsight now, they probably should have formed some kind of National Thoroughbred League in the late Seventies to capitalize on the public interest in three Triple Crown winners in five years, try to establish more of a national structure for racing beyond just the big three races, the Midwest and Canada in the summer, maybe some kind of Western Crown in the fall.
But it was always too fragmented to pull that off, and when the dual threats of OTB and then the internet rose up, there was nothing really to save.

 

Or you put a casino at the track and use some of that sweet, sweet slot machine money to help increase purses to attract better horses like Oaklawn has done.

 

Not familiar with the area, is this even a real possibility?

 

I am not familiar with the area either. Does the property lie within the Giants designated area or the A's. Baseball split up the Bay Area geographically and designated parts to the A's and part tot he Giants. The A's wanted to move from Oakland to the San Jose area and try to attract some Silicon Valley money but the Giants controlled the area and would not let them in. With the economic explosion in Silicon Valley that area could support professional sports and then another team could be located in San Francisco proper. But the East Bay does not have nearly potential corporate support as the San Jose area would.

 

I'm 99 percent joking because I've not heard anything mentioned, although the Oaks played on the south side of Emeryville (close to where the Bay Bridge interchange with I-580 was built) for decades. The GGF property is privately owned but straddles both Berkeley (edit) and Albany, so any future plans will have to get zoning approval from both cities.

According to the most recent story, it's either winding up as green space, housing/retail or perhaps even a hospital. Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is all of 5.3 miles away, so no idea why that's being floated as a possibility.

But the parking, infrastructure and ability to be repurposed quickly is there right now. There's grass, dirt and a tote board, plus wagering! Even stables for a whole bunch of Charlie O. mules. And a wonderful view of a sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge, if you can bundle up enough to watch it.

I'm certain there's enough land to where you could build a ballpark with a neat view of the Berkeley hills AND whatever the A's want built if they really wanted to buy the property, if it were for sale.

So nobody will even consider it.

 

Well, I can't believe there is 120 acres of essentially empty, shovel-ready land anywhere else in the Bay Area that probably is already zoned for something like a ballpark. Except for the site of the current park, of course.

I would think it's well within the A's territory, being on the other side of the bay.