Around the horn
The 49ers recently announced their plans to build a new stadium
adjacent to the existing Monster.com, 3-Com, Candlestick, or
whatever park you want to call it, in time for the opening kickoff
of the 2012 season. What the Niners really need is new ownership,
not a new stadium.
Around the horn
The 49ers recently announced their plans to build a new stadium adjacent to the existing Monster.com, 3-Com, Candlestick, or whatever park you want to call it, in time for the opening kickoff of the 2012 season. What the Niners really need is new ownership, not a new stadium.
But one team that definitely needs a new stadium is the Oakland A’s. Whether that future stadium is built in Oakland, Alameda, San Jose or even Hollister, it doesn’t matter. It just needs to be built.
The home of the Oakland A’s has never looked right since Mount Davis was built in 1995 to ready for the return of Mr. Davis’ Raiders. The massive section that towers over the outfield area with its 22,000 seats, which I might add are mostly empty during baseball games, has destroyed the 38-year-old park’s appeal.
With the East Bay foothills as a backdrop and its grassy areas beyond the bleachers, it used to be one of the nicest ballparks in the nation. Now it looks like one big glob of cement.
Another team that could use a stadium is Gavilan College. Only it doesn’t need a new stadium. It just needs one, period. For football. Sure, the Rams can and do practice on the existing bleacherless practice field, but they are forced to head to Gilroy or San Benito High on game day to compete.
Talk about a recruiting nightmare. How do you get a top young athlete to go to school and play a certain sport when the facility to play that sport on doesn’t exist? It just shows how great of a job John Lango has done at Gav in recent years.
While some teams need new stadiums, one team that doesn’t is the Boston Red Sox. Fenway may be 3,000 miles away from us but it’s the jewel of Major League Baseball.
Virtually untouched since it opened in 1912, seeing a game at the historic park is a must for any baseball fan. AT&T Park out here is another one. The home of the Giants was probably the only park in history that was a “classic” the day it opened.
Everybody loves big-time sporting events right in their own back yard, which is why so many people were excited when it was announced that the Champ Car Series was coming to San Jose for the San Jose Grand Prix last year. Not only were the locals excited to see Live Oak alum Jimmy Vasser and Hollister’s A.J. Allmendinger screaming around the track but they couldn’t wait to see all of the multi-million-dollar machines rip around the streets of San Jose at speeds approaching 200.
It was exciting stuff until we all went and realized we couldn’t see any action at all, which is why the venue needs to be relocated. Not only that, the track is too tight and bumpy, which prevents the best drivers in the world from showing off their driving skills. Maybe they ought to move it to Morgan Hill, Gilroy or Hollister. Now there’s an idea.
Another idea would be to relocate the varsity baseball field at San Benito High. It’s not that it’s a bad field it’s just that the location, sandwiched in the middle of the school’s athletic complex, is a nightmare to get to, and there isn’t a lot of space for spectators to watch the Balers play – especially for a big game.
Another thing I’d like to see in this area would be an ice-skating rink. With the tremendous growth of roller hockey in the area and more people supporting the Sharks, I think an ice-skating rink would be welcomed news for the many hockey buffs that now have to drive up to San Jose in the middle of the night in order to lace up and play in an adult hockey or youth league – not to mention the local figure skaters that are forced to do the same thing.
Yep, as the old saying goes, home is where you hang your glove, skates and pigskin.
