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August 15, 2005

The Next White Elephant?

Another Try in Oakland

by Neil deMause

Consider the other white shoe dropped. Lew Wolff, the Los Angeles real-estate magnate who is the public face of the Oakland A's new ownership group, revealed details of his plans for a new stadium at a Friday meeting with the county coliseum authority, tantalizing A's fans who've been raised on tales of how Mount Davis is the reason why Billy Beane can't have a free-agent budget.

From a design standpoint, Wolff's vision is certainly, uh, interesting. Condo apartment blocks rise in left and center field, there's a giant video screen where you'd expect the batter's eye, and...oh, just look at the pictures. Wolff's stadium designers--I haven't been able to find out who's behind these renderings, though I suspect the involvement of someone at Sony--have shoehorned in "quirky" elements from a bunch of existing stadiums, from a triangular bleacher section (Fenway) to seating on a building roof in left field (Petco, though the A's building would be built anew rather than incorporating an existing historic structure). And if it's hard to feel much affection for the quirky when it's this contrived--had any warm fuzzies about Houston's imitation of Duffy's Cliff lately?--well, that's postmodernism for you.

In any case, it's pointless to take the designs too seriously at this point. The final product, if it ever gets built, isn't likely to much resemble the initial renderings. If renderings were destiny, Petco Park would have a free picnic area in center field, the Phillies would be playing in Chinatown, and the Metrodome would be rubble.

No, the interesting part here for A's rooters, Oakland residents and concerned baseball fans alike is what Wolff didn't reveal: who will pay for it all. The A's press office has refused to release any details of the plans beyond an exceptionally hand-waving Wolff press release (sample English-like text: "A visionary leadership from all parties associated with this project who believe the A's are a community asset is required to help us reach our objective in creating one of the most exciting venues in all of sports"). Wolff himself, when asked about financing on Friday, told reporters to stay offa his damn lawn, insisting, "We're not ready to discuss that and we're certainly not going to discuss it to the press."

Until Wolff breaks his vow of silence then, or someone files a Freedom of Information Act request, it's hard to say who the winners and losers would be from a new A's stadium. What is apparent, though, is that the A's plan bears all the hallmarks of what's becoming recognizable as 21st-century stadium planning. We have entered a new era, and the playbook has changed subtly:

• Think small. Whereas the first wave of modern ballparks--SkyDome, Camden Yards, new Comiskey--were built to hold 50,000 and up, owners have learned that they can make more money by scaling back on seating and reaping the benefits of artificial ticket scarcity. As the Boston Red Sox have learned, a small ballpark means that not only can you jack up prices, but that fans have to rush to buy tickets in January or face being shut out. As a result, your team doesn't have to worry about no one showing up for games if the weather (or the team) is lousy, since the tickets are already pre-sold. As an added benefit, you can furlough half your box-office employees for 11 months out of the year.

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