Oakland Ballers step up to the plate to save legacy BART car the A's rejected
Click here for b-roll of car leaving Hayward Yard and arriving at Raimondi Park
On Thursday, April 17, a legacy BART car was delivered to the Oakland Ballers, a professional baseball team that burst onto the Bay Area athletics scene in 2024. The Ballers are a BARTable partner and wear the BART logo on their jerseys.
A flatbed truck carried the legacy car from BART’s Hayward Yard to a temporary home near Raimondi Park, where the Ballers play. Over the next year, the car will be transformed into a park concessions stand, which will be unveiled next season. BART gave the Ballers the car at no cost as part of its legacy car decommissioning program. The team was responsible for the cost of transporting of the car.
“Adding this BART legacy car is one of many examples of how our ballpark is going to continue to grow with us,” said Ballers Co-Founder Paul Freedman. “We want Raimondi Park to be a living museum full of tributes to Bay Area culture. We can’t wait to repurpose and creatively feature our BART legacy car in the near future."
Said Ballers Co-Founder Bryan Camel: "We often say we are driving the train while laying down the tracks with the Ballers. So this BART legacy car being stationed at Raimondi Park is a perfect way to celebrate the history of the Bay Area while also acknowledging the rapid development of our team’s future."
This same car was initially reserved for the Athletics, the professional baseball team that departed the Bay Area in 2024. Team officials emailed BART in 2023 to inform them they would no longer be accepting the car, which they intended to bring with them to their new stadium to commemorate their long history in the Bay Area.
“It was disappointing when the Athletics notified us by email that they no longer wanted this car,” said BART Chief Communications Officer Alicia Trost. “So, we asked Oakland’s newest professional sports team if they’d like to have it, and they responded with an immediate, ‘Yes!’ We are grateful to the team for saving this piece of Bay Area history so that Oakland baseball fans will be able to enjoy it."
This won’t be the first time the Ballers have repped BART. BART and the Ballers entered into a partnership ahead of the team’s inaugural season, with the Ballers hosting BART Night at the park in August 2024 to celebrate the role transportation plays in ensuring fans can watch their favorite teams play.
"I'm thrilled about the delivery of a legacy train car to our co-marketing partner, the Oakland Ballers! Its future home at their ballpark honors our shared history and the ongoing journey of community, connection, and celebration," said BART Principal Marketing Representative Jill Buschini, who oversees BART's co-marketing partnerships.
Raimondi Park is under a mile from West Oakland Station, and the Ballers offer free shuttles that run every 20 minutes from the station to Campbell St. between 18th and 20th, starting three hours before game time and a half hour after the game ends. Opening Day at Raimondi Park is May 20.
The BARTmobile on the field at Raimondi Park during BART Night at the Ballers in 2024.
BART officially retired its legacy fleet, which carried passengers for more than 50 years since the opening of the system, at a ceremony and final ride in April 2024. All BART trains in service are now made up of new cars.
“We are extremely excited to see these legacy cars being delivered to their new homes. Although this particular car was initially slated to move with the Athletics to their new ballpark in Las Vegas, we are equally as thrilled to know that this car will be staying local for Bay Area residents to continue to enjoy for years to come!” said Brian Tsukamoto, BART Legacy Car Decommissioning Manager.
BART’s legacy cars have a tremendous sentimental value with passengers in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, and we wanted to ensure the historic vehicles would have a second life. BART gave the public the opportunity to submit proposals for repurposing retired cars, and eight recipients were selected after describing what they planned to do with the vehicle. Two recipients, the Athletics among them, later declined.
The recipients are reusing their cars for a multitude of purposes, including a short-term rental in the Sierras, a regional fire training center in Hayward, and a bike shop and clubhouse for Oakland youth. Three cars were also awarded to the Western Railway Museum, which is establishing a Rapid Transit History Center.
