115-721: Howard Terminal Ballpark was a proposed baseball stadium to be built in the Jack London Square neighborhood of Oakland, California . If approved and constructed, it would have served as the new home stadium of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB), replacing the Oakland Coliseum . The 34,000-seat stadium was the last of several proposals to keep the Athletics in Oakland. The site
230-469: A cantilevered upper deck seating area that hung out over the lower seating area. Although it did not use reinforced concrete in its construction, Baker Bowl is considered the first of the jewel box parks. The first to use reinforced concrete was Shibe Park , which opened in 1909, also in Philadelphia. The upper decks were typically held up by steel pillars that obstructed the view from some seats in
345-434: A "smoother and more circular stadium." At the time, the A's still had not acquired Howard Terminal. The A's proposed plan was to build a privately financed, 34,000-seat ballpark at Howard Terminal, including fixed seats and general admission experience areas. The ballpark was to feature an elevated park that wraps and frames the bowl, coming down to meet the waterfront and a promenade called Athletics Way. The proposed ballpark
460-413: A chain-link fence. Beyond the infield and between the foul lines is a large grass outfield, generally twice the depth of the infield. The playing field is bordered by fences of varying heights. The infield fences are in foul territory, and a ball hit over them is not a home run; consequently, they are often lower than the outfield fences to provide a better view for spectators. Sometimes, the outfield fence
575-428: A city 26.5 miles (42.65 km) southeast of Oakland, where a large 143-acre (0.6 km) parcel of land was available just north of Mission Boulevard and south of Auto Mall Parkway off Interstate 880 and across from Pacific Commons . The land was owned by the real estate firm Prologis and leased to Cisco Systems . A formal press conference to announce the existence of Wolff's ballpark proposal of Cisco Field
690-546: A diamond. The infield is a rigidly structured diamond of dirt and grass containing the three bases, home plate, and the pitcher's mound. The space between the bases and home is normally a grass surface, save for the dirt mound in the center. Some ballparks have grass or artificial turf between the bases, and dirt only around the bases and pitcher's mound. Others, such as Koshien Stadium in Hyōgo Prefecture , Japan, have an infield of entirely dirt. Two white lines extend from
805-532: A few which are oriented just slightly west of straight north. (Left-handed pitchers are called "southpaws", and indeed the pitcher's left hand is toward the south in the usual park layout, and this has often been cited as the source of the appellation. But this is most likely a false etymology , or partly so, as "southpaw" for left-handers has been in use since at least the mid 19th century, and applied to boxers.) Today, in Major League Baseball ,
920-449: A group of local citizens formed Fund Arena Now (FAN). The group contacted city officials and pursued potential sponsors and partners from the NHL and NBA . In the late 1980s, mayor Tom McEnery met with FAN, and subsequently a measure to allocate local taxes for arena construction came up for a public vote on June 7, 1988, passing by a narrow margin. In 1991, soon after construction began,
1035-511: A hotel and a performance center in the area surrounding the stadium." Located near Downtown Oakland , the Charles P. Howard Terminal is west of Jack London Square and is adjacent to railroad tracks and large industrial facilities. The 55-acre (22 ha) waterfront property is currently owned by the Port of Oakland. Howard Terminal has not been used by a cargo vessel since 2013. On April 26, 2018,
1150-503: A minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field, and 400 feet (120 m) to center. (Rule 1.04, Note(a)). This rule was passed to avoid situations like the Los Angeles Coliseum , which was 251 ft (77 m). down the left field line. However, with the opening of Baltimore's Camden Yards (1992), the "minimum distance" rule began to be ignored. One factor may be that
1265-429: A multi-tiered seating area, a grandstand , surrounds the infield. How far this seating extends down the baselines or around the foul poles varies from park to park. In minor league parks, the grandstands are notably smaller, proportional to expected sizes of crowds compared with the major leagues. The seating beyond the outfield fence generally differs from the grandstand, though some multi-purpose or jewel box parks have
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#17327913470131380-479: A rugby venue in New Zealand with an ETFE roof allowing grass to be grown indoors, or NFL stadiums like State Farm Stadium and Allegiant Stadium , which allow the grass field to be grown outside and then rolled indoors for games), the first generation of indoor parks predated such abilities. Since there was not enough light to grow grass, artificial turf is installed, and this affected the game. Artificial turf
1495-478: A similar boom. One of the first major league ballparks to be called a "stadium" was actually the Polo Grounds, which was temporarily renamed Brush Stadium from its reconstruction in 1911 until the death of owner John T. Brush in the 1920s. By then, the most famous baseball "stadium" of them all had been constructed: Yankee Stadium . From that point until the retro building boom of the 1990s, the suffix "Stadium"
1610-625: A statement was issued by the Chancellor indicating that he had been instructed to "discontinue planning" for the ballpark after a closed session meeting of the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees on the evening of December 5, 2017. In November 2018, a plan for a "jewel box" design for the stadium at Howard Terminal met with a "tepid welcome," with the next version in February 2019 showing
1725-595: A very intimate stadium. As a result of its small size, it was speculated that it would have been very hitter-friendly. The Giants repeatedly refused to cede their territorial rights to the San Jose area (which had been yielded by the A's in the early 1990s when the Giants had been in danger of relocating to Tampa Bay , previously both teams had shared the South Bay), although the team is open to sharing Oracle Park with
1840-498: A year. On May 11, 2021, with the concern of slow progress on the project, Major League Baseball instructed the A's to begin exploring options for relocation from Oakland. That same day, Dave Kaval commented to media that the A's remaining in Oakland was "Howard [Terminal] or bust", implying that the failure to secure approval for the Howard Terminal ballpark project would lead to the A's leaving Oakland. On July 20, 2021,
1955-480: Is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part based on the placement of bases, and the outfield is where dimensions can vary widely from ballpark to ballpark. A larger ballpark may also be called a baseball stadium because it shares characteristics of other stadiums . A baseball field can be referred to as
2070-598: Is also SAP's chairman of the board) purchased the naming rights to the facility in a five-year deal worth US$ 3.35 million per year. The arena was renamed "SAP Center at San Jose" upon approval by the San Jose City Council . In September 2022, a new center-hung system from Daktronics that doubled the surface of the old video display system was debuted ahead of the 2022-23 NHL season. The four main LED displays measure approximately 23 feet high by 41 feet wide and
2185-629: Is currently a parcel of land (previously used as a marine terminal for container cargo operations) owned by the Port of Oakland . After securing the site, the Athletics planned to have the stadium built and operational after the team's lease expired at the Oakland Coliseum in 2024. The first of the proposed new ballpark sites was a location in Uptown Oakland . In a 2001 study, Populous (formerly HOK Sport) had suggested this location as
2300-657: Is currently zoned industrial land and would have included a Ballpark Village which would have included shops and either a hotel or apartment building in one of the outfield walls of the park. On November 16, 2010, the City of Oakland proposed a waterfront site in the Jack London Square area for a new A's ballpark. The site, called Victory Court, was near the Lake Merritt Channel along the Oakland Estuary . The city conducted an environmental impact report for
2415-476: Is harder, and thus a ball hit on the ground moves faster and bounces higher. This, coupled with the usually dull white or gray roofs that could camouflage a fly ball, causing what Twins fans called a "dome-field advantage". A park of note is Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The park was designed with a large tower that loomed over top. Cables came down from the top of the tower to connect to the large oval center of
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#17327913470132530-417: Is little consistency in the choice between "Field" and "Park". For example, Houston's Minute Maid Park was originally named "Enron Field". Seating area design of stadiums is affected by many variables, including required capacity, audience access, and road traffic. Early ballparks like Elysian Fields were a far distance from the city center. Each game was an event, and fans traveled by public transit to watch
2645-423: Is little space between the field and the street beyond. Some in-play scoreboards and high fences reached 50 to 60 feet (18 m), whereas a few outfields were even lined with hedges rather than normal fences or walls. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome , when set up for baseball, had a 23-foot (7.0 m) right field "fence" that was actually a relatively thin blue plastic sheet covering folded up football seats. It
2760-431: Is made higher in certain areas to compensate for close proximity to the batter. In many parks, the field is surrounded by an area roughly 10 feet (3.0 m) wide made of dirt or rubberized track surface called a " warning track ". In the 1937 refurbishment of the original Yankee Stadium , a running track that ran the perimeter of the field was incorporated into the field of play as the first warning track. MLB formalized
2875-783: Is set for October, after which construction of the new fixed-roof ballpark will begin. Two days later, after the Athletics could not reach a deal with the city of Oakland to extend their lease at the Coliseum, they instead reached an agreement with the Sacramento River Cats , the current Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants , to share Sutter Health Park for the next three seasons, starting in 2025. Howard Terminal remains in Oakland's plans for Embarcadero West Rail Safety planning, updated March 25, 2024. Ballpark A ballpark , or baseball park ,
2990-437: Is the catcher's box, where the catcher and the home plate umpire stand. Next to the first and third base are two coaches' boxes, where the first and third base coaches guide the baserunners, generally with gestures or shouts. As the baserunner faces away from the outfield when running from second base to third, they cannot see where the ball is and must look to the third base coach on whether to run, stop, or slide. Farther from
3105-609: The 2010 , 2013 , and 2019 tournaments. Mixed Martial Arts events have played a big role at the SAP Center. The MMA organization Strikeforce held many events in San Jose beginning with Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie in 2006, then Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg in 2009, through 2012 with Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier . The first Bellator MMA organization event at SAP was Bellator MMA & Glory: Dynamite 1 in September 2015 and since has held 6 total events with
3220-425: The 47th National Hockey League All-Star Game in 1997, the 1999 NCAA Women's Final Four , ArenaBowl XVI in 2002, the 2007 USA Gymnastics Visa Championships, and UFC 139 on November 19, 2011. Intel Extreme Masters Season IX – San Jose in 2014 and Intel Extreme Masters Season X – San Jose were held at the venue. Prior to Super Bowl 50 in nearby Santa Clara , the arena housed introductory media activities for
3335-511: The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 4–1 on a non-binding agreement to create an infrastructure financing district from property tax revenue of the future ballpark. With this agreement, Alameda County and the City of Oakland would use this tax revenue over a 45-year period to pay for infrastructure near the proposed ballpark, such as improving the roads, adding new sewer, water, and electrical lines. On February 17, 2022,
3450-629: The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis , which instead of a rigid masonry roof was covered by inflatable fiberglass sheeting, held up by air pressure. A drawback to this design, at least in Minnesota's severe winter climate, was revealed when the dome collapsed three times in its first three years of operation due to accumulated snow. The Tokyo Dome has a similar roof; due to Tokyo's considerably milder winter climate, that stadium has not had
3565-571: The Kingdome , whose formal name was "King County Domed Stadium", and the Metrodome, for which the Minneapolis highway signs directed the driver to "Metrodome Stadium". The retro era of the 1990s and early 2000s saw some venues return to using "park" in a stadium's name, even in domed structures such as T-Mobile Park and American Family Field (which opened with the name Miller Park). There
Oakland Ballpark - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-677: The National Basketball Association 's Golden State Warriors returning to San Francisco, Oakland would have no teams in any of the "Big 4 Sports Leagues" to call home after the A's departure. On April 20, 2023, it was reported that the Athletics had purchased a parcel of land from Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa for a new stadium in Las Vegas, near the Las Vegas Strip for a new $ 1.5 billion, 35,000-seat ballpark and were fully committed to relocating to
3795-473: The Oakland City Council voted 6–1–1 to approve a non-binding term sheet to continue negotiations with the A's for the new ballpark. However, Dave Kaval said that the team does not agree to those terms since it was not the term sheet the team provided. In spite of this, the A's agreed to resume talks with the City of Oakland to work on a financial deal to build the ballpark. On October 26, 2021,
3910-495: The Oakland Coliseum being the last one in use. The Athletics moved out of Oakland Coliseum in 2024 and have temporairy moves into West Sacramento 's Sutter Health Park for three seasons as a new dedicated facility of their own is built in Las Vegas. Their former co-tenants, the NFL Oakland Raiders , moved to Las Vegas in 2020 & into Allegiant Stadium . Note: To reduce redundancy, this table does not list
4025-458: The second Yankee Stadium , built 2009, used the same dimensions as the original Yankee Stadium . The heights of the fences can also vary greatly, the most famous example being the 37-foot (11 m)-high Green Monster in Fenway Park 's left field. Such tall fences are often used to stop easy home runs in a section of the ballpark where the distances from home are shorter, or where there
4140-598: The 30 MLB owners would have had to vote in the A's favor and force San Francisco to give up their territorial claim to Santa Clara County . Lew Wolff stated, "My goal and desire for the organization is to determine a way to keep the team in Northern California." The Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Jose had been acquiring the properties needed at the Diridon South site. The available land, only 12–14 acres (4.9–5.7 ha), would have given rise to
4255-421: The A's on a temporary basis if the A's have plans for a permanent stadium in the works. In August 2012, Commissioner Bud Selig's Blue Ribbon committee, which had been implemented to study potential ballpark locations for the Athletics, met with both Oakland and San Jose officials. At the Oakland meeting, the committee was met with a proposal for a ballpark on the site of Howard Terminal, a container terminal on
4370-402: The A's, including committing to LEED gold standard of design with the ballpark; a target of reducing car trips to the new ballpark by 20%; achieving net zero emissions; possibly building an electrically powered gondola that connects the ballpark to mass transit; and adding protections to the site in anticipation of future sea level rise caused by climate change . The A's were also working with
4485-475: The Athletics as the last major league professional sports team in Oakland. The team revealed three stadium location options: the current Coliseum site, the Peralta area near Laney College , and Howard Terminal at Jack London Square. After a comprehensive study of three proposed ballpark sites (Coliseum site, Howard Terminal, and Peralta Community College Headquarters District ), the A's ownership determined that
4600-519: The Athletics were not qualified to be certified under a California law that would expedite any legal challenge against the team over environmental concerns. This was because the team did not meet a Jan. 1, 2020 deadline for consideration. The suit eventually was dismissed by the Alameda County Superior Court. However, the almost year-long suit delayed the process of the team getting the stadium cleared for construction by at least
4715-499: The Athletics' move to Las Vegas. However, at the time of the vote, many details had not been finalized, including where the team would play in the interim period, whether the new stadium would have a retractable roof or fixed dome, how construction would be financed, and when the team could move into the new park. On April 2, 2024, the Tropicana Las Vegas was closed after having been in operation for 67 years. Demolition
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4830-507: The Athletics. On June 25, 2014, the Athletics reached a 10-year lease agreement with the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Authority to stay at the Coliseum. Bud Selig commended both sides for reaching a deal on a lease extension, while offering, "I continue to believe that the Athletics need a new facility and am fully supportive of the club's view that the best site in Oakland is the Coliseum site." On July 16, 2014,
4945-521: The Bay Area Council Economic Institute, the privately financed ballpark project would create approximately 2,000 construction jobs and even more permanent jobs would be generated by the ongoing operation of the ballpark. In addition to the A's ballpark project at Howard Terminal, the council also officially endorsed the A's redevelopment project at the Coliseum site, provided it also includes community benefits. As part of
5060-548: The City of Oakland on a race and equity analysis to ensure the project produces community benefits for Oakland residents. Union Pacific , according to the San Francisco Chronicle , voiced concerns over the Howard Terminal as the ballpark's location in April 2019, due to issues of safety concerning the active train tracks on one side of the site. Maritime officials had also voiced concerns that bright lights from
5175-629: The Coliseum site. The Athletics balked at the deal. In 2016, Lewis Wolff resigned as the majority owner of the team. John J. Fisher then took over as majority owner. Fisher appointed Dave Kaval as team president and head of the stadium project. Around the same time, the Raiders announced their relocation to Las Vegas in 2020 . Also, the Golden State Warriors moved to Chase Center in San Francisco in September 2019. This left
5290-661: The Council voted to move forward with the African American Sports and Entertainment Group proposal. On May 13, 2019, the board commissioners of the Port of Oakland voted 7–0 to approve and authorize the Executive Director to execute the initial term sheet for a term of four years. In October 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills intended to streamline the stadium process at
5405-762: The East Oakland Stadium Alliance held a protest with "hundreds of cars" on the A's Opening Night to protest the Howard Terminal proposal and the Coliseum sale. In 2020, the Athletics were sued by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, the Harbor Trucking Association, the California Trucking Association, and Schnitzer Steel . Schnitzer Steel has a neighboring facility to Howard Terminal. They alleged that
5520-581: The Las Vegas area before shifting to the Tropicana Las Vegas casino-resort with a 30,000–33,000 seat ballpark and subsequent approval from the Nevada Legislature. After this announcement, Oakland mayor Sheng Thao announced the cessation of negotiations with the team regarding the Howard Terminal site, effectively ending the proposed ballpark project. On November 16, 2023, Major League Baseball's owners voted unanimously in favor of
5635-598: The MLB had completed an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Howard Terminal ballpark proposal. On February 22, 2019, the Oakland A's announced a partnership with the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP) to enhance the long-term sustainability of the neighborhoods of West Oakland and improve the quality of life for local residents. The partnership was part of a series of environmentally focused plans being promoted by
5750-666: The Metrodome's snow-related issues. SAP Center The SAP Center at San Jose (originally known as San Jose Arena and the HP Pavilion at San Jose ) is an indoor arena located in San Jose, California . Its primary tenant is the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League , for which the arena has earned the nickname "The Shark Tank". Plans for a San Jose arena began in the mid-1980s, when
5865-508: The NHL granted an expansion franchise to San Jose. After it was discovered that the arena would not be suitable for NBA or NHL use as originally designed, the Sharks requested an upgrade to NHL standards, including the addition of luxury suites , a press box , and increased seating capacity . In 1993, the arena was completed and initially named the "San Jose Arena". For the 1996–97 NBA season,
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#17327913470135980-498: The Oakland City Council asked city staff to pursue negotiations with two Black-led developer groups to purchase their share of the Coliseum, one led by the African American Sports and Entertainment Group and the other by Dave Stewart and Lonnie Murray . Both plans included housing and hotels. The City indicated any plan would also need the support of the Athletics, who would still owned half the site. In November 2021,
6095-759: The Oakland City Council voted 6–2 to certify the Environmental Impact Report for the planned Howard Terminal stadium development. On June 30, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission voted 23–2 to remove port priority use from the Howard Terminal site. In late September 2022, the Athletics missed a city deadline to finalize the stadium plan by pushing negotiations to 2023. Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred warned that negotiations stretching into 2023 would create "uncertainty" while Kaval had previously said that it would "all but doom" efforts to keep
6210-480: The Oakland waterfront near Jack London Square currently owned by the Port of Oakland . Wolff stated the site "has no ability to be implemented for a ballpark." Major League Baseball, however, stated that it was their preferred location for a new ballpark in Oakland, and later formed a plan to develop the location. On October 5, 2015, the United States Supreme Court rejected San Jose's bid on
6325-414: The Port of Oakland commissioners voted 6–0 unanimously to enter in to a one-year agreement to negotiate exclusively with the Oakland A's. This agreement allowed the A's to pay the Port $ 100,000 to study economic feasibility and environmental, transportation and accessibility issues. A similar agreement with the A's regarding the Coliseum site was also agreed upon with the city on May 16, 2017. By March 2019,
6440-713: The SAP Center sold the most tickets (633,435) to non-sporting events of any venue in the Western United States , and the fourth highest total in the world, after Madison Square Garden in New York City (US), the Manchester Arena in Manchester (UK), and Scotiabank Arena in Toronto (Canada). Other events hosted at the arena include the 1996 United States Figure Skating Championships ,
6555-563: The Victory Court site and informed Major League Baseball of its decision. The city began accepting public comment on the ballpark EIR at the December 1 Planning Commission meeting held at Oakland City Hall . By the end of 2011, the city had tabled the Victory Court site in favor of a proposed three-venue development at the Coliseum site titled Coliseum City . In April 2006, Lewis Wolff took his Ballpark Village proposal to Fremont ,
6670-527: The arena served as home to the Golden State Warriors while their regular home court in Oakland (now known as Oakland Arena ) was under renovation. In 2001, naming rights were sold to Compaq , and it was renamed "Compaq Center at San Jose" (not to be confused with the Compaq Center (formerly The Summit) in Houston, Texas ). After HP purchased Compaq in 2002, the arena was renamed "HP Pavilion",
6785-428: The ballpark plan, the Athletics committed to redevelopment of the Coliseum site, which was owned jointly by the City of Oakland and Alameda County. In March 2018, the A's sent a letter to the City of Oakland proposing to purchase the entire Coliseum property, including Oakland Arena and surrounding parking lots, and develop it into a new ballpark and ballpark village in exchange for paying off $ 135 million of debt owed on
6900-531: The ballpark search in Fremont on February 24, 2009. In 2012, it was proposed that Cisco Field be constructed in Downtown San Jose immediately adjacent to SAP Center and San Jose Diridon Station at the corner of Montgomery Street and Park Avenue. For the A's to have moved to San Jose, either the San Francisco Giants would have had to rescind their territorial rights on the area, or at least 23 of
7015-429: The bases: an urban location, with plenty of parking and public transportation available. The first professional baseball venues were large wooden ballparks with seats mounted on wood platforms. Although known for being constructed out of wood, they featured iron columns for better support. Some included one tier of inclined seating, topped with either a flat roof or, in some instances, a small upper tier. The outfield
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#17327913470137130-535: The best potential site to fit the needs of the A's and create the most community partnership opportunities and benefits was the Peralta site. The team announced that the Peralta site would be the preferred choice for the A's new ballpark on September 13, 2017. The area is located between Lake Merritt and I-880 where there are warehouses, parking lots and administrative offices for the Peralta Community College District. Opposition to
7245-826: The constraints of actual city blocks, often resulting in significantly asymmetrical outfield dimensions and large outfield walls to prevent easy home runs. Notable examples included League Park in Cleveland, which had a 40-foot (12 m)-tall wall in right field, and the Green Monster , the 37-foot (11 m)-tall left field wall at Fenway Park in Boston. Notable exceptions include Shibe Park and Comiskey Park , which were built on rectangular city blocks that were large enough to accommodate symmetrical left and right fields. Other sports, such as soccer and football , were often played at these sites (Yankee Stadium, for example,
7360-509: The earliest baseball stadiums that incorporated this type of design was Cleveland Stadium (built 1932), which featured an oval grandstand that was more friendly to goal-centered sports like football. A park built to suit all sports well, which was co-owned by the teams or the city, seemed advantageous to all, especially because it was less expensive to maintain one stadium rather than two. Some parks that were originally built for one sport were renovated to accommodate multiple sports. The shape of
7475-518: The early ballparks. With the beginnings of professional baseball, the ballfield became part of a complex including fixed spectator seating areas, and an enclosure to restrict access to paying customers, as with a fairgrounds. The name "Grounds" began to be attached to ballparks, starting with the Union Grounds in 1862. The suffixes "Field" and "Park" were still used, but many professional ballparks were "Grounds". The last major league "Grounds"
7590-410: The elements. Besides the drawbacks of the cantilever design, there were other issues with these parks. With few exceptions, seating was angled to face the center of the field of play, rather than home plate. The furthest seats in these parks were 500 feet (150 m) or more from the plate. The capacities of these stadiums were larger than previous baseball stadiums. Typical game attendance did not fill
7705-680: The event. The SAP Center hosted games 3, 4, and 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals in the Sharks' first appearance in franchise history, with the Cup being presented to the series-winning Pittsburgh Penguins after game 6. In 2012 and 2016, the arena played host to the USA Gymnastics Olympic Trials. The arena was the host to the West Regional semifinals and finals of the 2002 , 2007 , and 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournaments; as well as first- and second-round games of
7820-419: The extension was officially approved. On August 6, 2014, the A's commenced talks with a possible architect to build a baseball-only stadium at the Coliseum site, according to Wolff. It was reported in early 2015 that the Raiders and team owner Mark Davis met with Wolff in an effort to create a stadium solution where two separate stadiums (one for the Raiders and one for the Athletics) would have been built on
7935-437: The fans had difficulty seeing over the football benches. This was evident in the movable seating sections in RFK Stadium. The first ten rows of the football configuration were practically at field level, and fans in those sections often stood up on their seats to get a better view. Other stadiums overcame this simply by covering those seats, not bothering to sell them. Despite being cost-effective, these problems eventually caused
8050-453: The field. Like its English relative, cricket , there is significant flexibility in the shape and size of the rest of the playing area. Baseball leagues may specify a minimum distance from home plate to the outfield fences. Generally, the higher the skill level, the deeper the minimum dimensions must be, to prevent an excess of home runs. In the major leagues, a rule was passed in 1958 that compelled any new fields built after that point to have
8165-546: The first indoor sports stadium ever built, was built to escape the hot and very humid climate of Houston and the Kingdome was built to escape Seattle's constant fall and winter rains. In Japan, domed stadiums were built to escape frequently rainy climates, as well as extreme snowfall in Sapporo. There is little to no natural light in these parks, necessitating the use of one of the most distinguishing aspects of an indoor park: artificial turf. While technology now allows for grass to be used in indoor venues (see Forsyth Barr Stadium ,
8280-399: The foul poles and did not completely enclose the field. Plans were made to enclose the grandstand and build a dome, but engineers discovered that the structure could not handle the load of the proposed dome. Thus, the area behind the outfield fence remained open. One major innovation of the multi-purpose parks was the cantilevered upper deck. In earlier ballparks, the columns used to support
8395-426: The game. With the growth of professional leagues, and consequent growth in the quantity of games, each game became less of an event, and fan convenience became more important. Many professional ballparks were built either near the city center, or in working-class neighborhoods, based on the expected economic level of the average fan. Consequently, the classic ballparks typically had little space for automobiles, as it
8510-415: The grandstand surround the entire field. This area could contain inexpensive bleacher seats, smaller grandstands, or simply inclined seating. In local ballparks, there are often simply a set or two of aluminum bleachers on the first-base and third-base sides. Distinctive from "goal games" such as football and basketball , which have fixed-size playing areas, the infield is the only rigidly laid-out part of
8625-429: The home plate area, aligned with the first and third bases. These are the foul lines or base lines , usually differentiated by referring to them as the first base line, or the third base line. If a ball hit by the batter lands outside of the space between these two lines or rolls out of this space before reaching first or third base, the ball is "foul" (meaning it is dead and the play is over). If it lands between or on
8740-440: The indoor stadiums of the multi-purpose era in this section. *A baseball-only ballpark converted to a multi-purpose stadium. **A football-only stadium converted to a multi-purpose stadium. ‡ denotes stadium is also a retractable-roof ballpark An important type of ballpark is the indoor park . These parks are covered with a fixed roof, usually a hard concrete dome. The reasons to build indoor parks are varied. The Astrodome ,
8855-401: The infield on either side are the dugouts, where the teams and coaches sit when they're not on the field. They are named such because, at the professional levels, this seating is below the level of the playing field to not block the view from prime spectator seating locations. In amateur parks, the dugouts may be above-ground wooden or CMU structures with seating inside, or simply benches behind
8970-414: The last one, Oriole Park V, burning down in 1944. The earliest ballparks built or rebuilt of reinforced concrete , brick, and steel are now known as the jewel box ballparks or classic parks . Two-tiered grandstands became much more prevalent in this era, as well. The Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, which opened in 1895, was the first to use steel and brick as the primary construction materials and included
9085-436: The lines, it is "fair". At the end of the lines are two foul poles, which help the umpires judge whether a ball is fair or foul. These "foul poles" are actually in fair territory, so a ball that hits them on the fly is a home run (if hit on the bounce, it is instead an automatic double). On either side of home plate are the two batter's boxes (left-handed and right-handed.) This is where the batter stands when at bat. Behind home
9200-518: The lower level. However, because of the supports used, the upper decks could come very close to the field. The two-tiered design was the standard for decades, until the New York Yankees built Yankee Stadium . To accommodate the large crowds Babe Ruth drew, Yankee Stadium was built with three tiers. This became the new standard until some recently built parks reverted to two, including PNC Park in 2001. Most jewel box parks were built to fit
9315-664: The most famous examples is the original Yankee Stadium, whose odd-shaped plot of land caused right field to be over 100 feet (30 m) shorter than left, although this difference lessened over time. The rectangular Polo Grounds had extremely short distance down the lines, 258 ft (79 m). to right and 280 ft (85 m). to left. In contrast, the deepest part of center field was nearly 500 ft (150 m). from home plate. Older ballparks, such as Fenway Park , were grandfathered in and allowed to keep their original dimensions. Also, new parks have sometimes received special dispensation to deviate from these rules. For instance,
9430-448: The most recent being Bellator 199 on May 16, 2018. SAP Center has also been the host of premiere MMA promotion the UFC . The first event was UFC 139 on November 19, 2011, then UFC on Fuel TV: Muñoz vs. Weidman on July 11, 2012, UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez on April 20, 2013, and most recently UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. Brown on July 26, 2014. On September 18, 2016, the arena hosted
9545-487: The old Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., part of center field had to be built around a cluster of apartment houses and the result was a rather large angular indentation in the left-center field fence. Now, these variations are mostly influenced by the specifications and whims of the designers. New "retro" parks, which try to recapture the feel of the jewel box parks, are often designed to have these quirks. Baseball
9660-552: The parks generally depended on the original use. Ballparks that were renovated to accommodate football, like Candlestick Park and Anaheim Stadium , were usually asymmetrically shaped. Football stadiums that were renovated to accommodate baseball, like Sun Life Stadium and Mile High Stadium , were usually of a rectangular shape, though Mile High actually started its life in 1948 as a Minor League Baseball park known as Bears Stadium. Parks that were built to serve both were usually circular and completely enclosed on all sides. These were
9775-495: The parks that gained multi-purpose parks the reputation as bland cookie-cutter structures. The first of these parks was DC Stadium (renamed RFK Stadium in 1969) in the District of Columbia . RFK is unique in that it hosted two different baseball teams , and that it was the first to originally be intended for multiple sports. A notable variant among the cookie-cutter stadia was Shea Stadium . Its grandstand extended just beyond
9890-451: The parks to become unfashionable. The multi-purpose architecture reached a climax when Toronto's SkyDome (now Rogers Centre ) opened in 1989. It had state-of-the-art amenities including a retractable roof, hotel, and a restaurant behind the outfield from where patrons could view the games. Rogers Centre was renovated into a baseball only stadium from 2022 to 2024. There are no more purely open-air multi-purpose parks still in use today, with
10005-475: The pending sale of the Coliseum site to the Athletics alleging that the sale violates the Surplus Land Act. After intervention by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred threatening to relocate the Athletics, the Oakland City Council officially dropped its lawsuit against Alameda County. As of 2019, then, the Coliseum was owned 50% by the City of Oakland and 50% by the Athletics. In July 2021,
10120-435: The playing field running toward the north or east or some direction between. Major League Baseball Rule 1.04 states that it is "desirable" (but not required) that the central axis run east-northeast (about 22 degrees north of east). This is to prevent the setting sun from being in the batter's eyes. In practice, major league parks vary up to about 90 degrees from east-northeast in either direction, but none face west, except for
10235-415: The prime site for a ballpark. However, plans to build a park there were dismissed by then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown due to the concern of the ballpark ruining the housing development of the neighborhood. Brown opted to sell the site to a condominium builder to whom he allegedly had ties. The City of Oakland also considered a site near the Oakland Estuary for a stadium. However, the A's showed no interest in
10350-737: The project included members of the Peralta Federation of Teachers, select student and facility groups of neighboring Laney College and a local coalition of organizations led by the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN). After several months of preliminary discussions amongst the A's and the Peralta Community College's Office of the Chancellor Jowel Laguerre, Chancellor of Peralta Community College District,
10465-719: The property by the City of Oakland and Alameda County. On April 23, 2019, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 5–0 to approve the term sheet between the County and the Oakland Athletics providing for the possible purchase by the A's of the county's 50% interest in the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Complex for $ 85 million. On September 27, 2019, the Oakland City Council filed a lawsuit against Alameda County over
10580-412: The quaint, "retro" look of Camden Yards, with its irregular measurements, proved to be very popular, along with a traditionalist backlash against the symmetrical, multi-purpose, "cookie-cutter" stadiums. Since the opening of Camden Yards, many other "retro" stadiums have been built, each with asymmetrical fences. These distances vary from park to park, and can even change drastically in the same park. One of
10695-401: The roof. This oval center was supposed to be lifted by the cables, opening the park up if the weather was pleasant. However, the mechanism never worked correctly, and what was supposed to be a retractable roof was initially not used, then used for only a short period of time, and later replaced with a permanently fixed roof, making the stadium a strictly indoor facility. Another notable park was
10810-604: The same name as one of its computer models . In late April 2007, it was announced that the HP Pavilion at San Jose would be receiving several building improvements, including a new center-hung LED video display system from Daktronics similar to that of the TD Garden , home of the Boston Bruins of the NHL. In June 2013, German software company SAP (co-founded by Sharks managing partner Hasso Plattner , who
10925-570: The site due to lack of public transit access. Additionally, much of that land had already been sold to a condominium developer. Then- Oakland Athletics owner Lewis Wolff presented his vision for the team's venue to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority on August 12, 2005. The ballpark he proposed would have been on 66th Avenue just north of the Coliseum . The stadium would have been built on what
11040-425: The size of the 14 newly installed displays total at more than 9,300 square feet of surface area. In April 2023, construction was announced on a new 10,000-square-foot penthouse lounge, with seven suites and three rows of regular seating being converted to accommodate the project. With the new premium seating completed, the arena's total attendance capacity for hockey games changed from 17,562 to 17,435. In 2006,
11155-600: The stadium might interfere with the Inner Harbor's shipping traffic at night. On May 11, 2019, the Alameda Labor Council, AFL–CIO , voted to support the Oakland A's efforts to build a new ballpark at Howard Terminal. The Council expressed strong support for the project given its potential to provide significant economic benefits for working families throughout the East Bay. According to a report issued by
11270-401: The stadiums. Due to the rectangular shape needed for football or soccer, outfield dimensions were generally symmetrical, and even seats at field level down the lines could be far from the action. Multi-purpose stadiums also posed issues for their non-baseball tenants. The "cookie-cutters" with swiveling, field-level sections proved problematic. Because the front rows were too close to the field,
11385-468: The stands. In Citi Field and Oracle Park , part of the right field fence juts unevenly into the outfield as if the builders were trying to create an unpredictable ricochet effect for balls hit against it. Some "retro" parks, such as Globe Life Park in Arlington , throw in a sudden and small inward turn (often referred to as a jog) just to give a little quirkiness to the design. Milwaukee's Miller Park
11500-533: The state level. Ballpark Digest in May 2020 reported that the Howard Terminal ballpark plan "may end up being delayed or even scrapped, as the COVID-19 pandemic and underlying economic uncertainty will certainly impact facility planning for the Athletics." Just prior to this announcement, the Athletics' vice president of communications had stated "the timeline may be adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic." In July 2020,
11615-417: The suburbs and bought cars, the lack of parking became an important issue. Some ballparks remedied this problem through the construction of parking garages in the vicinity, or building new ballparks with ample parking. Others built ballparks in the suburbs, typically with large parking areas. The ballpark/stadium thus became an "island" in an "ocean" of parking space. The modern "retro" trend seeks to cover all
11730-477: The team in Oakland and lead to a potential relocation to Las Vegas where the A's had engaged in negotiations with city officials and local businesses about building a new ballpark in the area. With the National Football League 's Raiders having already relocated to Las Vegas, the A's would be the second Oakland team to relocate there if the Howard Terminal plans fell apart. Additionally, with
11845-427: The upper decks obstructed the view from some seats in the lower deck. In the new design, the upper decks were extended upwards and the columns were removed. However, even though the extension counterbalanced some of the weight, the upper decks could no longer extend as close to the field and had to be moved back. Also, the roofs could no longer be as large, and often only covered the top 15 or so rows. This exposed fans to
11960-434: The warning track as a requirement in 1949. Beyond the outfield fence in professional parks is an area called the batter's eye . To ensure the batter can see the white ball, the batter's eye contains no seating and is darker in color. The batter's eye area can be anything from a dark wall to a grassy slope. Most major league ballparks are oriented with the central axis (home plate through second base through center field) of
12075-917: The wooden stands aged and dried. Many parks caught fire, and some were leveled completely. This problem, along with the popularization of baseball and expectations for long-term use of the parks were major factors that drove the transition to the new standard materials for ballparks: steel and concrete. Some famous wooden parks, such as the Polo Grounds III in New York and National League Park in Philadelphia, burned and were rebuilt with fire-resistant materials (Polo Grounds IV and Baker Bowl). Others were simply abandoned in favor of new structures built elsewhere. These new fire-resistant parks often lasted for many decades, and (retrospectively) came to be known as "jewel boxes". There are no more professional ballparks in existence left with this architectural trend, with
12190-399: Was bordered by tall walls or fences covered in advertisements, much like today's minor league parks. These advertisements were sometimes fronted with bleacher seats, or "bleaching boards". Wood, while prone to decomposition, was a relatively inexpensive material. However, the use of wood as the primary material presented a major problem, especially as baseball continued to thrive. Over time,
12305-782: Was designed to accommodate football). In contrast to the later multi-purpose parks, the seats were generally angled in a configuration suitable for baseball. The "retro" ballparks built in the 1990s and beyond are an attempt to capture the feel of the jewel box parks. The only jewel box parks still used by Major League Baseball are Fenway Park and Wrigley Field . From the 1960s until the arrival of retro parks in 1992, baseball built many multi-purpose ballparks . Also derisively known as "concrete donuts", "cookie-cutters", or "giant ashtrays", they were usually tall and circular or square structures made entirely of, usually bare, reinforced concrete. The parks were built to hold baseball, but also were able to host other sports, such as football and soccer. One of
12420-454: Was designed, with the help of former player Robin Yount , to promote extra base hits . Originally (mostly in the old jewel box parks) these variations resulted from the shape of the property where the park was constructed. If there was a street beyond left field, the distance to the left field fence would be shorter, and if the distance was too short, the fence would be higher. For example, in
12535-441: Was expected that most fans would take mass transit to the games, a situation that still prevails at Boston's Fenway Park and Chicago's Wrigley Field , for example. Some early ballparks, such as Brooklyn's Eastern Park , were abandoned because the trolley lines did not go out far enough and the team was not performing well enough for people to tolerate the inconvenience. As fans became more affluent, and especially as they moved to
12650-575: Was held on November 14, 2006. The plan would be to build a 32,000 to 35,000 capacity stadium on the parcel of land in addition to adding housing and shops. Bud Selig , commissioner of Major League Baseball and John Chambers , the CEO of Cisco Systems along with Wolff were in attendance. The proposal of the ballpark encountered problems such as construction delays, lack of public transportation, and Fremont residents voicing concerns of traffic congestion, noise, and pollution. This led to Wolff officially ending
12765-623: Was intended to create a new waterfront district with a mixture of real estate, including affordable housing, offices, restaurants, retail, small business space, parks, and public gathering spaces. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) was hired as the lead designer in developing plans for both the stadium and the surrounding development around the new ballpark. It was BIG's first Major League Baseball stadium commission. A revised design by BIG came out in February 2019, retaining its rooftop park with community access and developing "3.3 million square feet of housing, 1.5 million square feet of commercial and office space,
12880-408: Was often called a "baggie" or "Hefty bag". Some ballparks have irregularly shaped fences. Ballparks may have round swooping fences or rigidly angled fences, or possibly a significant change in direction or irregular angle. For example, the center field stands and the left field stands at Fenway Park meet at an uneven angle, creating an indentation (called "the triangle") that angles sharply back into
12995-455: Was originally played in open fields or public parks. The genesis of modern baseball is conventionally connected with Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey , a large public park where the businessmen of New York City gathered from time to time to play organized baseball games and cricket matches, starting around the mid-1840s. The name "Field" or "Park" was typically attached to the names of
13110-495: Was the Polo Grounds in New York City, which was razed in 1964. The term " stadium " has been used since ancient times, typically for a running track and its seating area. As college football gained in popularity, the smaller college playing fields and running tracks (which also frequently had the suffix "Field") gave way to large stadiums, many of them built during the sport's "boom" of the 1920s. Major league baseball enjoyed
13225-491: Was used for almost every new major league venue, and was sometimes applied to the old ones, such as Shibe Park , which was renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1954. The suffix "Dome" was also used for the indoor stadiums constructed from the 1960s onward. The official names of those arenas also often included the word "Stadium", such as the Houston Astrodome , whose formal name was "Harris County Domed Stadium" in 1965;
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