“We’re stealing baseball back for Oakland. Fans first. Oakland forever.”
That’s the tag line for the Oakland Ballers social media accounts. The Oakland City Council is supporting these sentiments, as they unanimously agreed last week to negotiate and execute a one-year lease with the Oakland Ballers for the Raimondi Park baseball field. The agreement should receive final approval from the council next week.
The team is owned by Oakland natives Paul Freedman and Bryan Carmel and will spend about one-and-a-half million dollars improving the park. They will also manage the removal of contaminated soil from Wood Street for which the city will foot the bill of $850,000.
Two dozen local volunteers spent a recent weekend sprucing up the park, as part of a longtime, ongoing neigborhood beautification effort. The team is committed to supporting local community groups, as well as creating a pipeline for local baseball talent.
According to reports from The Oaklandside, the Ballers have also agreed to hire workers fired from the Coliseum.
The Ballers are the first West Coast franchise of the Pioneer Baseball League and will play at least 48 games at the park. The field will be open for public events, like film screenings, as well as free baseball clinics.
The Oakland Ballers opening game will be on June 4th against the Yolo High Wheelers.
