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Will the New Ballpark Plan Include Rezoning to Allow Over 3,000 Homes?

By 2 commentsAthletics, Development

On the Tri-City Beat blog Matt Artz created a post noting that the original agreement to bring the A’s to Fremont included allowing them to develop over 3,000 homes. Mayor Wasserman noted that he would reconsider doing this if a ballpark were back on the table. Below is my post on this.

http://www.ibabuzz.com/tricitybeat/2010/01/18/ye-olde-pacific-commons-ballpark-village/

Of all of the huge issues that were glossed over in last week’s Council meeting, this was arguably the biggest. Why in the world would Wolff and the A’s be willing to spend the $400-500 million needed to build a ballpark? I guess establishing the rationale for a developer actually wanting to pay for the ballpark is not necessary if you’re just doing a ‘conceptual analysis’.

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Position Paper on the A's Locating on the NUMMI Site

By Athletics

My position paper on the recent ‘conceptual approach’ of building a stadium on NUMMI property.

http://www.bacon2010.com/ballpark2010.html

I spoke at the most recent Council meeting discussing this issue.  Below is what I had to say in the one minute the Council allowed each speaker.

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Much economic research has been done on the effect of sports stadiums on local economies.  The results have consistently shown that ballparks are simply NOT good economic generators.

You can not provide us with any examples of an instance where a ballpark, on its own, has served as a catalyst for economic development.  It simply has not happened.

You are suggesting that, in these difficult economic times, that we gamble with a large amount of money on a completely unproven economic model.  This is clearly an irresponsible use of our taxpayers’ money.

We know for sure that NUMMI did not want to operate right next to a ballpark.  If NUMMI had a problem with it, I imagine that any large manufacturer, or any large employer for that matter, would feel the same way.  We also know for sure that some of our largest retailers did not want a ballpark right next to their stores.

I understand that these are difficult economic times.  It will probably be quite a while before we can hope to win back the employment that we lost with NUMMI.  The last thing we should do is put something on that site that will actually be a deterrent to a new manufacturer.

First Blog post from 2008 Campaign (March 30, 2008)

By 1 comment2008 Campaign

In starting to blog the campaign activity, I decided to go back and capture some historical events that have happened up to this point in time.

March 17, 2008 – First Campaign Meeting: We have our first meeting where we’re now strategizing about how to win the election. Fourteen people show up excited about my running. I’m now convinced that I have all that I need to run a viable campaign and actually win in November. It’s starting to get exciting.

March 2, 2008 – Decision to Run: I talk with all of the key people in my life to get their take on whether they’d be able to put up with me as I commit to doing all that it will take to win in November. I get nothing but support. I take a deep breath and decide to run. I announce my intent at the March 3 meeting of the Friends of Fremont.

January, 2008 – Friends of Fremont Forms: A group of Fremont residents forms the group “Friends of Fremont.” The goal of the group is to look at the upcoming elections in Fremont and nearby communities and try to get candidates into office that are more aligned with their policies than the current group of leaders. The group meets on a bi-weekly basis hearing from other cities that have successfully established similar advocacy groups and strategizes to determine how to bring this success to Fremont and the Tri-City area.

November, 1991 – Vinton Bacon Sr. wins seat on Mill Creek City Council: Yes, this has nothing to do with my campaign but I hope to carry on my father’s legacy of public service at the City Council level. He was known for being a strong fiscal conservative, something I would definitely strive to be myself.

My father had several hundred buttons printed up for his campaign that were never used. Finding these at his house last summer helped put the idea in my head that it would be fun to run for City Council. As an advocate of recycling, my father would be proud of my re-using his buttons.