Oakland Roots at the Coliseum 2024-2025!

Goodbye Steve Fisher, and good riddance. I’m sad to see the proud legacy of the Oakland Athletics end this way, despite all the years of enthusiastic support from Oakland and East Bay fans.

BUT FEAR NOT!

OAKLAND ROOTS WILL PICK UP THIS HERITAGE AND PLAY AT THE COLISEUM!

LET’S GO OAKLAND!!!

Put a deposit down for your tickets today!

https://seatgeek.com/oakland/series/d00d0dc6-81bc-ee11-8445-818a853f2717?performer_id=787695&aid=16169&pid=colideposit_email&rid=1070&utm_medium=partnership&utm_source=16169&utm_campaign=colideposit_email

OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL WILL SPEND $1.1M TO IMPOSE TAXES THAT WON'T IMPROVE SPORTS FIELDS IF YOU DON'T ACT TODAY

The City Clerk has added the Nexus Study contract to the City Council agenda on 12/9/14, as a consent item which means that public testimony is not taken prior to action by the City Council.

If approved, this contract will authorize the City to spend up to $1,100,000 to study whether to impose fees on future development, without making any specific proposal to provide for the addition, improvement, and maintenance of parks and athletic fields in the City of Oakland. 

MAKE YOUR VOICE ON THIS ISSUE HEARD TODAY. THE CITY COUNCIL WILL VOTE ON DECEMBER 9 IF NO ACTION IS TAKEN.  The agenda can be seen here: https://oakland.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=360039&GUID=BDACBD2D-FBB2-4A26-B841-687899DCE705 

Contact your City Council member, and insist that they to a) move item S7.32 from the consent calendar on December 9, 2014; and b) continue to push for the changes to Hausrath Contract.  Further information about this study and the related fees can be found on the prior post of this blog, along with information about how to contact City officials.

 

 

Contact your Councilmember to Improve Oakland Parks!

Dear Sponsors and Supporters of Youth and Adult Sports in Oakland:
 
As many of you know, Oakland Parks and Recreation (OPR) has been holding a number of community focus groups.  One item that is being discussed is the creation of a revenue stream and development impact fees to fund the expansion and rehabilitation of parks and recreational facilities managed by OPR.  Audree Jones-Taylor, Director of OPR has asked members of the community to explore this issue.

The Oakland City Council is expected to vote on this issue before the Christmas holiday. Therefore it is important for you to contact the Mayor, your Councilmember(s), and the Interim City Administrator no later than December 14, 2014.  Their contact information is provided below, and this site contains a draft letter for your use.
 
Oakland is “under parked” and this is supported by the facts.  The City of Oakland has set a standard, based on guidelines from the National Parks and Recreation Association, of 4 acres per 1,000 residents.  State law has established a 3 acre per 1,000 residents as the standard.  Oakland has less than 1.5 acres per 1,000 residents.

We use Oakland’s parks as do our children, friends and neighbors, and we see the need for expansion and improvements.  We want more playing fields.  We want improved lighting at basketball and tennis courts.  Oakland is growing, and that is great, but our parks and recreational facilities are in need of rehabilitation.  We see the need every day and know that Oakland has too few spaces for active recreation for current and future parks users.  


We ask you and your organization to participate in this effort and to secure a parks and recreation impact fee in the City of Oakland.  In addition, we ask that you, your organization’s board, and others who see the need for additional and improved parks and recreational spaces in Oakland to prepare a letter of support.  This site has a draft letter of support that you may edit and submit on behalf of your organization.

See the Oakland Parks and Recreation web site for a list of upcoming public meetings. http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/opr/index.htm

 CITY CONTACTS:

Mayor Jean Quan
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza
3rd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
officeofthemayor@oaklandnet.com

Henry Gardner, Interim City Administrator
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza
3rd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
cityadministrator@oaklandnet.com
 
Councilmember Dan Kalb, District 1
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza
2nd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
dkalb@oaklandnet.com

Councilmember Pat Kernighan, District 2
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza
2nd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Pkernighan@oaklandnet.com
  
Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney, District 3
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza
2nd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
lmcelhaney@oaklandnet.com  
 
Mayor-elect Libby Schaaf
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza
2nd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
lschaaf@oaklandnet.com
 
Councilmember Noel Gallo, District 5
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza
2nd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
ngallo@oaklandnet.com
 
Councilmember Desley Brooks, District 6
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza
2nd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
dbrooks@oaklandnet.com
 
Councilmember Larry Reid, District 7
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza
2nd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
lreid@oaklandnet.com
 
Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, At-Large
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza
2nd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
atlarge@oaklandnet.com

Thank you for your consideration, and for your support of Oakland.

OAKLAND SEEKS INPUT ON FIELD NEEDS

The Oakland Parks & Recreation Department is seeking input on the use and maintenance of Oakland public fields.  The meeting is scheduled for 5:30-7 pm, November 20, 2014, at Jack London Aquatic Center (115 Embarcadero, Oakland, CA, 94607).

Oakland has thousands of families participating in soccer and other sports leagues, and yet our children practice in Alameda more often than not. Games played on other cities' fields reveal both superior field availability and superior field maintenance.  Oakland does have space for fields, and some of the best soccer players and parents in the region.  

Come to this meeting and express your desire to have excellent soccer and sports fields available for your family and players. 

The information page on the Oakland Parks and Rec web site is here:http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/opr/index.htm

Here is a link to the informational flyer (note the address for the 11/20 hearing is NOT CORRECT on the flyer): http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/opr/documents/marketingmaterial/oak050002.pdf 

If you want more information, or if you cannot attend but want your voice to be heard, post a Comment or reach out to me at contact@soccer4oakland.org.

 

 

 

Soccer Broke My Brain - a concussion story

Soccer is a sport that allows for movement, feeling, energy, connection, fitness, flow, and competition. Concussion can change everything.

Read this story to learn about how our knowledge of concussions has grown over time, and how the decision to completely heal from a concussion changed one woman's experience of soccer forever.

If you are a parent, watch your children and players carefully for any signs of head injury, (in soccer or any other sport).

If you are a referee, protect players from this potentially invisible and devastating injury.

If you are a coach, be mindful - you want your player to be healthy for their life.

http://aeon.co/magazine/altered-states/how-concussion-put-me-on-the-bench-for-good/

New Softball Field Proposed At Emerson Elementary

Oakland Unified School district is proposing to add and develop fields in the Temescal area, to provide additional field space for Oakland International High School, Emerson Elementary, and Oakland Technical High School and their neighborhoods. Several plans are in the works, your input and support is requested! Some of these fields, if maintained, can also provide small soccer fields or training areas.

Additional information and updates on the meetings can be found at the OUSD web site under the "Facilities Planning & Management" tab.  Go here: http://www.ousd.k12.ca.us/domain/95 .

The OUSD School Board will have a meeting on June 25, 2014, to pass a resolution to provide additional field space for the schools in the Temescal area. Support from the community is needed to ensure that these fields can be maintained once they are built, so that they remain a resource for our community going forward.  

Contact the school board and your city council member today to tell them you support this proposal!

Contact information for the School Board: http://www.ousd.k12.ca.us/domain/73

Email address for Noel Gallo: ngallo@oaklandnet.com; 
Email address for Noel's chief of staff Clara Garzon:  cgarzon@oaklandnet.com.

Web site for Noel Gallo (District 5)
: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/CityCouncil/OAK039245

Contact email for Libby Schaff: lschaaf@oaklandnet.com

 

 

 

Fields in Oakland - In Jeopardy?

It is time to spread the word, but ironically, my first post is not about soccer, it is about Baseball. There is an extreme shortage of quality fields in Oakland.  OUSD is working on a proposal to modify its use of fields at schools, therefore everyone with an interest should take this opportunity to be heard. 

Here is a link to the recent presentation OUSD held for its "schoolyard initiative" http://www.ousd.k12.ca.us/cms/lib07/CA01001176/Centricity/Domain/95/TEP%20Community%20Meeting.pdf 

If you have any information or comments, please post them here or contact me at contact@soccer4oakland.org.  Look for additional information on proposed changes to baseball and soccer fields, and ways your voice can be heard.

Play More

It's time for my first post. As a parent, coach, referee, and beginning soccer player, I have come to love playing soccer with my kids and their friends. However, I find that access to fields in Oakland is scarce and poorly maintained. Although there have been some new fields added, such as at Oakland High School, access to these fields is limited, locked, and restricted.

As a resident and working parent, I am a believer that we should all have access to public facilities, and that they should not be an afterthought.  Schools, libraries, and fields should not be always cut in favor of police and pensions. 

My goal is to provide a central place for ideas and collaboration to help Oakland live up to its potential as the best place to live in the East Bay.

Feel free to comment.

rich