Pro-baseball in Pleasanton? Pro-baseball in Pleasanton? (December 19, 2003)

by Jeb Bing

S mack in the middle of a public debate over how to develop the city's newly acquired public lands on Bernal comes a renewed bid by Amit Patel and his investment group for a minor league baseball team in Pleasanton. Patel, a baseball enthusiast who can cite team and player statistics year by year and coast to coast, is leading an effort to bring independent league baseball back to California, and Pleasanton is one of his eight targeted cities. He sees a 4,000-seat stadium fitting in just fine with long-range Bernal property development plans. Besides providing Tri-Valley residents with a less expensive night at the ballgame, the stadium also could serve the city's interests in having a large amphitheater for local and regional concerts, as well as a field like none other in the Bay Area for Little League, Pony and Babe Ruth youth baseball tournaments. Together with locker rooms, lights and plenty of restrooms, the stadium, with its two-story-tall walls would also buffer noise from traffic on I-680, but be close enough to the freeway for easy in-and-out access at Bernal Avenue without adding to Pleasanton's cut-through traffic woes.

Patel took his proposal to a recent City Council workshop, but had few comments following a brief presentation. Now he hopes to be included in the April 17 Bernal Block Party to convince Pleasanton baseball fans of the benefits of having a local team. He already has generated support from enthusiasts like Curt Conyers, who said in an e-mail that he really enjoys baseball. But Conyers finds the cost, travel time and commitment to go to the Giants or A's games take their tolls. He favors a small 5,000-7,000 seat stadium where he and his family can watch minor league play, although Staples Ranch on Pleasanton's eastern boundary might be a better location. Dave Terhune also likes the idea of baseball in Pleasanton. On his frequent business trips, he often spends nights at minor league baseball games, and has been impressed by both the turnout and the enthusiasm of local fans. He says he can only make it over to Pac Bell Park three or four times a season, so the lower cost and convenience of a local club would give baseball fans something to rally around.

Patel's proposed Golden Baseball League already has brought rave reviews and favorable response from other cities, especially those that have empty stadiums and fans waiting for a team to replace the clubs associated with the now-defunct Western Baseball League, an inadequately funded franchise operation that closed down last year. With venture capital in place, Patel plans to announce as early as next month the first six cities where games could start as early as 2005. These could include Vacaville, Sonoma, Chico, Redding or Long Beach, and Patel is making plans to formally renew his pitch for a team in Pleasanton.

As with most baseball ventures, there's a price to pay. While Patel's Golden Baseball League would establish and finance the Pleasanton team, it would want the city to build the stadium, which it would lease for $100,000 or more each year. That would cost Pleasanton from $2 million to $7 million, depending on the size of the facility, which, Patel adds, is still much cheaper than the $15 million minimum that major league-sanctioned minor league stadiums cost. For more information, readers can log on to the Golden Baseball League's Web site at www.goldenbaseball.com.

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