At the Proposed Ballpark Site Walking Tour

About 50-60 people, including several Baseball San Jose supporters, joined the San Jose Redevelopment Agencey for their Proposed Ballpark Site Walking Tour on Monday.

The agency's Dennis Korabiak led the tour, which consisted of updates on not only the ballpark, but the Diridon Station general plan, inlcuding BART and HSR. In short, the city plans to transform the area into a major retail-entertainment center, anchored to the north by HP Pavilion and to the south by Cisco Field.

Tour guests also got to hear from High-Speed Rail Authority board member, Rod Diridon. He made an impromptu pitch for the ambitious vision the city has for the area surrounding the station.



















Korabiak led the group to the corner of San Fernando and Autum, which will be the main gate to Cisco Field. It's not much to look at now, but soon it may be the site of a grand plaza welcoming A's fans to the game.

















Throughout the tour, Korabiak outlined the general ballpark concept. The agency's focus is on creating a comprehensive ballpark experience for fans, including a realigned Autumn Street, riverside parks, and plenty of new retail.

















The tour concluded with a few words from Baseball San Jose co-chair, Michael Mulcahy. In anticipation of a spring ballpark campaign, he urged baseball supporters to get the word out to as many people as possible.

It was interesting to get a peak at the city's grand vision for Diridon. If they come, the A's will have an dynamic new home in a bustling area of downtown. Of course, many things have to happen before that can become reality, but as Michael Mulcahy points out, MLB in San Jose begins with you.

You're up to bat, San Jose!

Cisco Field is the Talk of the Town

San Jose's proposed Cisco Field has gotten a lot of press since being introduced this week. And reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. That's not surprising now that people can actually visualize themselves in an intimate ballpark environment, enhanced with convenient transportation and plenty of nearby food and entertainment options. Look at the big picture and suddenly the prospect of Cisco Field, as true urban ballpark, comes alive. As Jeffrey at Newballpark.org said, "With a High Speed Rail station somewhere nearby, it isn’t hard to see the vision: A transit hub/plaza/retail district that sits in between HP Pavillion and Cisco Field. It is a grand vision."

Meanwhile, over at the Merc, Tracy Seipel evaluates San Jose's ballpark effort and speaks to Mayor Reed. The mayor is emphatic:  

"We have the best site, we're ahead of the others and this is the place that makes the most sense." 

Indeed, it's becoming increasingly difficult to argue otherwise. With an ambitious campaign planned for spring, San Jose has its ducks in a row and has positioned itself as the A's best hope in the Bay Area. (Read the full story here.)


Last, but not least...


This Monday, August 30th at 6 PM, the San Jose Redevelopment Agency will hold a "Proposed Ballpark Site Walking Tour" at downtown's Diridon Station. In addition to a preview of planned upgrades to support proposed High Speed Rail and BART, the SJRDA will illustrate plans for Cisco Field. This will be a great opportunity to get a feel for where the proposed stadium would be constructed. If you can remember the days before the HP Pavilion was built, you'll recall the radical transformation brought about by the construction of the arena. This'll be an interesting look at the land envisioned for the ballpark. We are anxious to see as many Baseball San Jose supporters as possible, so we hope to see you there.

You're up to bat, San Jose!

We Proudly Introduce, Cisco Field

Baseball San Jose is proud to officially present Cisco Field.

Signs of the Time: How You Too Can Support BSJ

Look out for Baseball San Jose placards popping up around the city soon. Downtown, Japantown and Rose Garden businesses are the first to show support for the A's in San Jose.

A special thanks to the many restaurants and shops that are kindly supporting MLB in San Jose.

If you would like a placard for your business, please contact us at info@baseballsanjose.com. It's an easy, yet effective, way to show your support.

A Great End to the Weekend

Our weekend at the Jazz Festival ended just as it started, with high levels of excitement and enthusiasm for an A's move to San Jose. Festival attendees continued to stop by our booth to express their support at levels that sometimes left our volunteers overwhelmed. Through it all we managed to accomplish our goals of making a presence, answering questions and increasing our list of supporters that far exceeded our expectations. Thank you to all our volunteers who gave up part of their weekend to help spread the word and to supporters who stopped by to say hi, we couldn't have done it with out you.

Day Two at the San Jose Jazz Festival

Another great day at the San Jose Jazz Festival for Baseball San Jose. Hundreds of festival attendees stopped by our booth to talk to volunteers, including to Baseball San Jose Co-Chair Susan Hammer (pictured). We have gathered support from hundreds of people who can't wait to see a new Downtown Ballpark open for the A's. Also stopping by to say hi were San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, Baseball San Jose Co-Chair Michael Mulcahy, District 3 Councilmember Sam Liccardo and Former Vice-Mayor Pat Dando. If you plan to be at the festival today, please stop by the Baseball San Jose booth and say hi.

All That Jazz: Day One at the San Jose Jazz Festival

Friday evening, Baseball San Jose took in day one the AT&T San Jose Jazz Festival. It was great to get out and meet the community. We encountered a tremendous amount of enthusiasm to bring the A's to a new home here in Silicon Valley.














If you are attending the festival, be sure to stop by the booth. You can see just released renders of the stunning proposed stadium (images coming to this site soon). In addition, we will be raffling A's tickets all weekend. Hope to see you there.   

 

You're up to bat, San Jose!

Stop by the BSJ Booth this Weekend at the San Jose Jazz Festival

Are you planning on attending this weekends San Jose Jazz Festival? If so, stop by the Baseball San Jose booth and show your support for bringing the A's to San Jose. We will be located near the main stage at Cesar Chavez Park. Sign up to receive updates and be entered into a raffle for A's baseball game tickets and other giveaways. We hope to see you this weekend.

Wiffle Ball at San Jose City Hall

Last week, before the San Jose City Council meeting, Silicon Valley Young Professionals gathered outside San Jose City Hall for a game of wiffle ball. Later that day, the Council unanimously approved the Mayor's amendments to the city's Negotiating Principles for a Downtown Ballpark.

Join us on Facebook!

Have you joined our Facebook Group yet? Facebook is the largest social networking site on the web and we could really use your support as we build a base of supporters for a professional baseball team in San Jose. So, if you haven't joined yet, visit us at our page and sign up today. Please also ask your friends and family to sign up too. We would like to double our membership in the next few months, so help us spread the word. Thank you for your continued support!

An Exciting Week for Baseball San Jose

This week has been very exciting. On Tuesday August 3^rd, Baseball San Jose leadership, staff and volunteers were at City Hall in force to support the San Jose City Council as they voted 11 - 0 to approve the Mayor's amendments to the City's Negotiating Principles for a Downtown Ballpark. Our supporters all wore Baseball San Jose stickers, including some local Cub Scouts. Prior to the meeting, supporters gathered outside City Hall for a game of Wiffle Ball and Mercury News columnist Sal Pizarro stopped by and wrote about it in his column.

Today we officially opened our first Baseball San Jose Headquarters in the historic Garden Theater in Willow Glen (1165 Lincoln Avenue, Suite 123, San Jose, CA 95125). Already people have been coming through the office asking questions and expressing their excitement about the prospect of the A's coming to San Jose. And yes, even Giants fans. In the days and weeks ahead, we will reach out across San Jose and the South Bay to ask people to support our efforts. So we encourage you to stop by and say hello and find out how you can get involved. 

Next weekend, August 13-15, Baseball San Jose will be at the San Jose Jazz Festival, so if you are there, please stop by and say hi (more details to come). Or better yet, if you have some time to volunteer we could really use your help to staff our Baseball San Jose booth. Please contact us at 408.794.9753 or by email if you are interested.

Well, that's all for now, but please continue to keep updated on our progress by visiting the webpage at www.probaseballforsanjose.com and if you haven’t already joined our Facebook group.

See you soon. 

Go San Jose A’s!