The Oakland A’s have recently announced plans to build a next-generation urban ballpark at Howard Terminal that “returns the baseball experience to the roots of the sport, while reimagining the ballpark anew.”
The overall design takes on a “ballpark within a park” design as the stadium will be tucked into its surrounding urban setting. The square block of the ballpark district will sit within Oakland’s greater urban fabric. The ballparks concourses will be transformed into streets and its concessions into restaurants.
The new stadium has a planned capacity of about 34,000 people, which includes fixed seats and general admission experience areas. To create the most intimate experience possible, the seats and general admission locations will be arranged in the closest configuration possible to home plate.
An elevated park will wrap and frame the bowl and connect the stadium to the waterfront, and an elevated tree-lined park will frame the stadium on all sides and dip down to meet the public square and open the field to water and city views. This park will connect a collection of social spaces that will be open on both game days and non-game days. The new stadium and park is being privately financed and slated for completion in 2023.
Additionally, the team will take on a second project to repurpose the current Coliseum site by pulling the adjacent neighborhood fabric into the site and create new economic, cultural, and recreational opportunities. The preliminary plans include a large park that will be surrounded by new housing, which will include affordable housing, a skills center, community gathering space, office and retail developments, and restaurants. The Oracle Arena will be repurposed as a concert and cultural events center and the original Coliseum baseball diamond will be preserved and included as part of the park.
See Also: Watch a time-lapse of Wrigley Field’s most recent phase of renovations
The A’s will now begin a “120-Day Action Plan” that will focus on gathering additional community feedback; beginning the environmental review process at Howard Terminal; negotiating an agreement with the Port of Oakland; developing a framework with public officials for the Coliseum redevelopment; and developing a framework for an economic and community benefits agreement.
Related Stories
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 17, 2018
Qatar unveils Lusail Stadium for 2022 FIFA World Cup
The stadium will be at the center of an entirely new city.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 6, 2018
Rec centers proliferate as community hubs
Taxpayers and other investors accept the economic and social value in these complexes.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Oct 30, 2018
Florida’s tallest building could begin construction next spring
SkyRise Miami to offer some hair-raising attractions.
Giants 400 | Oct 12, 2018
Sports venues reach outside their walls
Professional and collegiate facilities invite fans to engage with the community.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Aug 9, 2018
Populous-designed Buffalo Bills training center expansion will begin construction this fall
Arc Building Partners will lead construction efforts on the project.
| May 24, 2018
Accelerate Live! talk: Security and the built environment: Insights from an embassy designer
In this 15-minute talk at BD+C’s Accelerate Live! conference (May 10, 2018, Chicago), embassy designer Tom Jacobs explores ways that provide the needed protection while keeping intact the representational and inspirational qualities of a design.
Building Team Awards | May 16, 2018
Game, set, match: United States Tennis Association National Campus
Gold Award: With 100 courts and more than 260,000 sf of vertical construction, the USTA National Campus is a sanctuary for tennis enthusiasts.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | May 15, 2018
Is this the most environmentally sustainable arena in the country?
The university arena was designed by Architectural Resources Cambridge.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Apr 19, 2018
Watch a time-lapse of Wrigley Field’s most recent phase of renovations
The renovations took place between October 2017 and April 2018.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Apr 19, 2018
Northwestern’s new multi-sport training facility offers expansive views of Lake Michigan
Perkins+Will designed the facility.