The Wildwood Park renovation project will be broken down into nine different phases, or “innings”.
Lighting and Batters’ Visual Improvements
Safety always has to come first. The current lights at Wildwood Park are inadequate for today’s standards. These lights were the original lights installed at the park when Wildwood opened in the 1980s. Today’s standards require light poles to be about 20 feet taller than what we currently have. Additionally, the current lights are a heavy cost burden due to their outdated technology. The lights are too dim and there is a lot of spillover into the surrounding neighborhood. The current lights prohibit the A’s from putting in bids to attract additional big tournaments to the park, such as high school and Legion state tournaments.
Field Maintenance & Irrigation Repairs
The playing surface needs to be redone. The infield is several inches too low, meaning any rain almost instantly creates puddles, causing rainouts. The drainage system does not remove enough water from the playing surface, also adding to unplayable field conditions.
New Parking Along Wildwood Ave., and Behind Left Field
More parking is needed around the stadium to ensure fan and child safety. Having to cross busy New Jersey avenue when there are events taking place is dangerous, especially for kids. Adding parking along Wildwood avenue will help reduce the number of cars that have to park on New Jersey Avenue, making it safer.
New Concourse Area and Food Offerings
A new concourse area will allow for more activities both before A’s games as well as during non-baseball AttractingAttracing fans of all ages, there will be more kids games, adult games, a significantly greater food offering, a food truck area, corporate booth area, and more.
Social Decks
New social decks above and behind the current general admission seating areas will allow groups to hold private outings during games. With the addition of the decks, it will also add more storage areas around the park instead of relying on off-site storage garages.
Additional Seating plus Home Locker Room
Additional seating sections will be built down the first and third-base lines. These additional seating areas will also allow for new locker rooms to be built underneath for players and staff.
VIP Deck
A brand new VIP deck beyond the left-field wall will be built as an additional area for groups to hold outings, complete with private restrooms.
Visitor Locker Rooms
A locker room for teams visiting Wildwood Park will be built beneath the additional seating area along the first-base side.
Artificial Turf
Changing the playing surface from natural to artificial turf significantly decreases the maintenance needed, and will also decrease the number of events postponed due to weather.
