OAKLAND — The Ballers’ stay at Raimondi Park became official Tuesday when the Oakland City Council unanimously approved an agreement for their use of the field.
In exchange, the B’s will invest $1.6 million to upgrade the park’s facilities – including a new video scoreboard and repaired playing field – so they are suitable for professional baseball games and crowds of thousands of people they can attract.
“While it’s about sports, it’s not just about sports – it’s about how working together can uplift a community,” Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan said before Tuesday’s vote .
Approval of the Ballers’ plan comes less than a month after the A’s announced they would play in Sacramento from 2025 to 2027 after their lease expires at the end of this season, ending the 57-year tenure of the team in Oakland.
With Raimondi Park, a 4,000-seat stadium under construction for several months, now officially the home of the Ballers, the team presented some plans for the park ahead of its home opener on June 4 and released renderings of the stadium Wednesday.
Regarding transportation, the team’s goal for its first season is to ensure that 25% of fans arrive by means other than a car. To that end, the Ballers will provide a shuttle from the West Oakland BART station to Raimondi Park. The shuttle will run every 20 minutes, starting three hours before the first pitch and ending 30 minutes after the end of the game. Additionally, the team will provide free valet parking for bikes and scooters near the ballpark. Local cycling groups will lead riders to and from the park.
For fans who drive, there will be three guarded parking lots with more than 1,000 parking spaces, including carpool parking available. Overflow parking will be available at the West Oakland BART station. Parking can be purchased before games on the team website. Security will be posted around the park.
As for food and drinks, Raimondi Park will offer a standard lineup of burgers, fries, hot dogs, nachos, vegetarian options, sodas, beer, wine and cocktails, among other choices . The Ballers also plan to rotate food trucks.
On nights when the team is not using Raimondi Park, the field will be available to the community. Access to the grounds includes use of the video scoreboard, which can be reserved for movie nights. The playground near the baseball stadium has been repaired and updated.
Starting Wednesday, the Ballers will suspend ticket sales as they migrate to a new ticketing system that the team says will reduce fees. Starting May 6, fans can purchase single-game tickets in advance of games for $15 (discounted bleachers), $20 (general admission), $25 (reserved bleachers) or $30 (premium reserved seats ) (fees included). For fans purchasing tickets on game day, prices will be $18 (discounted bleachers), $23 (general admission), $28 (reserved bleachers) and $33 (premium reserved seats) (including fees) .
Raimondi Parki will have two doors on 18th Street and 20th Street. Both gates will open one hour before the first pitch. For those who have purchased reserved seats, the 20th Street gate will open an hour and a half before first pitch.
The Ballers begin their inaugural season on May 21, but they open the campaign with a 12-game road trip and won’t play their first home game until June 4 when they host the Yolo High Wheelers, who will also be playing their inaugural season. in the Pioneer League.
The Ballers, originally scheduled to play at Laney College until plans fell through, will play 48 home games this season. They planned to play a game at the Oakland Coliseum in late June, but the A’s blocked the deal.
Last night, the Oakland City Council voted unanimously in favor of our $1.6 million plan to reactivate our city’s historic Raimondi Park.
We are so grateful to the residents of Prescott and West Oakland, the City of Oakland, baseball fans and everyone who believes in the city for your… pic.twitter.com/tK4uklZFob
– Oakland Ballers (@OaklandBallers) May 1, 2024
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