What caused the Fremont plan to fail?
A confluence of events created an environment that was not favorable for the ballpark plan. On the business side, the A’s experienced conflicts with big box stores at the existing and adjacent Pacific Commons shopping center (Costco, Kohl’s, Lowe’s). The two sides, with PC landowner ProLogis/Catellus acting as the intermediary, tried to negotiate a parking protection and mitigation plan but were unable to come to a proper compromise. The stores inevitably held veto power over the deal and in voting their disapproval, killed the original Pacific Commons concept. The A’s were also adversely affected by changing economic conditions, namely the slumping housing market and the credit crunch. Financing of the ballpark was expected to be based largely on sales of housing development rights. Without a known recovery period, such financing had to be put on hold indefinitely. In addition, new stadium projects faced high interest rates, often several points higher than in previous years. When the
