Courtesy of the Oakland Ballers
There might be another ballpark to visit this summer for Stadium Journey readers. The Oakland Ballers have plans to keep baseball alive in town as an expansion club in the independent Pioneer League.
The Oakland B’s expansion club is “stealing baseball back” and set to join the independent Pioneer League for the 2024 campaign. It is co-founded by Entrepreneur Paul Freeman and Bryan Carmel, a veteran writer and producer. They have scheduled a 2 p.m. ET news conference on Tuesday with Oakland Mayor Sheng Tao and other city officials.
The B’s hope to play at Laney College's baseball stadium in downtown Oakland. The venue has a limited seating capacity and will be more than likely expanded for the new franchise. It is the site the A’s had once planned to build a new ballpark before announcing their decision to relocate to Las Vegas, NV.
The franchise has raised $2 million from investors and started a fundraising campaign to invite others to become part-owners of the team. The ball club has introduced its primary logo and team colors of green and gold, similar to that of its major league counterpart.
The B's will be the first California entry in the loop. The PL consists of 10 teams - spread across Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and Utah - and play a 96-game schedule from May to September. The emphasis is to draw more fans to home games this summer than the A's at the Oakland-Alameda County Stadium.
"Unlike the A's, the B's vow to never leave The Town," the Oakland Ballers said in a statement. "The Oakland B's will be for Oakland, by Oakland, and forever in Oakland. The Oakland B's believe that sports teams should serve their communities — not the other way around."
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Follow all of Marc’s stadium journeys on Twitter @ballparkhunterand his YouTube channel. Email at Marc.Viquez@stadiumjourney.com
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