Save Bay Meadows, Save Dixon
City of San Mateo, Magna Entertainment Corp at odds with fans
When Fenway Park was threatened with destruction, a volunteer activist organization appropriately named Save Fenway Park was formed. The owners of Fenway, almost 10 years ago, had made a public proposal for a new park to be built in the area, and the old one destroyed to accommodate parking and another development. Only the left field wall was to remain. Ownership had even gone so far as to make a virtual movie of the redevelopment. Save Fenway Park fought and valiantly succeeded in changing public opinion about the development. Eventually, new owners dropped the plan and Fenway Park has been successfully saved.
This story, however, begins more than 3000 miles away in the city of San Mateo. San Mateo is home to Bay Meadows Racetrack, Northern California's premier track, where people have visited and wagered in the San Francisco area for 72 years. The track's owners, developers and the City Council of San Mateo have all approved of the Bay Meadows Redevelopment Plan, guaranteeing the demolition of the 1930's racetrack. Only one thing stands between the track and certain destruction.
Fans.
Local fans have bonded together in an effort to keep the historic track. In order to do so, they will have to take on the developer, and even worse, their own municipality. Real estate in the bay area is worth astronomical amounts of money, one of the highest valued real estate areas in North America. Knowing this, the owners, developer and council are ambitious to cash in their chips on the 83 acre site. Fans, on the other hand are attempting to take the matter out of the council's hands by organizing enough signatures to have the matter put on the city ballot for the voters to decide. The amount of signatures is in dispute, and as to be expected, the matter currently is in court.
The valiant effort is being led by not one, but two organizations. The first is the Save Bay Meadows Citizens Group, who operates the website www.savebaymeadows.org. The other group is Friends of Bay Meadows, who operates the site www.keepbaymeadows.info.
A short drive away as the town of Dixon, California, and its fight is related to the Bay Meadows problem. Magna Entertainment, a former tenant of Bay Meadows, has been looking for a new North California area to provide racing. Their desire is to construct a venue in the town of Dixon. At first the town government welcomed the proposal, but as it came to brass tacks, its progress has halted. Dixon Citizens for Quality Growth, www. dumpthedowns.org, is a grassroots campaign organized in an effort to preserve their town. Initially, the Campbell's Soup Company was against the project and had filed suit. Magna then promised that race days would not impede traffic during the cannery's harvesting season, and the suit was dropped this past Friday. As in San Mateo, Dixon residents have attempted to put the matter up to vote, to be approved or disapproved by its citizenry, rather than its elected officials. Unlike San Mateo, they have been successful, and the vote is this April 17, 2007.
Two towns, one trying to save their track from the wrecking ball, the other dedicated to prevent one planned for construction. Good luck to both.
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