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The East Bay Regional Park District will provide the site of the future Gilman Street Sports Complex located off Gilman Street in Berkeley. The complex will include two soccer fields, two softball fields, and a new baseball field, and is estimated to serve the needs of roughly 17,000 East Bay athletes.
The Park District's General Manager and Board of Directors authorized a lease agreement with the City of Berkeley for the 16-acre shoreline property located east of I-80 and adjacent to Eastshore State Park. Acting as the lead agency, the City of Berkeley will oversee the construction, operation, and maintenance of the complex while the District will lease the land for a nominal $1,000 per year.
"The District is very committed to providing recreational opportunities to East Bay residents, particularly those in highly urban areas. The surrounding communities simply don't have enough sports fields to serve the needs of local youth sports teams," state Park District General Manager, Pat O'Brien. O'Brien says that a sports complex was always in the plan for the Eastshore State Park vicinity.
The East Bay Regional Park District, acting as agent for the State, operates Eastshore State Park, which extends 8.5 miles along the East Bay shoreline from the Bay Bridge to Richmond. Finding a suitable site without impacting wildlife habitat was critical to the Park District.
"The Park District has done an excellent job of securing both an ideal location and the funds to make this happen," says O'Brien. "This site was commercially zoned so the acquisition allowed us to permanently eliminate development speculation while providing an undeveloped area large enough for an active sports field."
The District secured over $17 million dollars in Measure AA bond monies--a $225 million bond measure passed by voters in 1988--and grant funding to purchase the property, perform toxic remediation, and fund development at the site. District staff worked for three years to obtain additional grant funds to pay for some of the field construction.
Berkeley is the lead agency of a joint powers agreement with Albany, El Cerrito, Emeryville, and Richmond to develop and maintain the fields. The ground lease between the Park District and the city of Berkeley is for 25 years and may be extended for an additional 25 years upon mutual agreement.