Oakland Ballers to transform BART legacy car rejected by A's into concession stand
A decommissioned BART car that was rejected by the Athletics has found a new home with the Oakland Ballers and will be transformed into a concession stand, BART said on Thursday.
BART said the Athletics had plans to bring the legacy car with them to their new Las Vegas stadium to commemorate their long history in Oakland. But in 2023, BART received an email from the Athletics that stated the team would no longer accept it.
So, instead, the BART car was delivered to Raimondi Park, home of the Ballers, as part of BART's legacy car decommissioning program.
The Ballers plan to transform the car into a concession stand at the park and have plans to unveil it next season.
"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."
The Ballers and BART have worked together before. They entered a partnership ahead of the team's inaugural season, even hosting a BART Night at the Park in 2024.
"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."
In April of last year, BART retired its legacy fleet after serving the Bay Area for more than 50 years.
Eight recipients were then selected to transform the legacy cars.
