Golden Gate Fields Becomes 161-Acre Public Park

0:00It's April 1st, Canada news today starts now, AI-powered and ready. The old Golden Gate Field's horse racing track site could soon become a massive 161-acre public park along the bay. Nearly two years after it shut down in 2024, the San Francisco-based Trust for Public Land struck a deal Tuesday to buy the property for $175 million and handed over to the East Bay Regional Park District. This spot straddles the Berkeley Albany Line and would link up with existing parks stretching from Richmond to Oakland, boosting shoreline access for everyone. Officials and environmental groups are hyped, from city mayors to the Sierra Club, calling it a four-thinking win after decades of pushing back. Against malls or labs on the land, zoning rules there kept housing and big commercial builds off the table anyway. The park district is chipping in $20 million from a 2008 bond, while the trust hunts public funds, private donors, and maybe, that new 2024 climate change bond.

1:03The current owners, the strontac group, will tear down the grandstands and stables as part of the agreement. A public planning process kicks off next if the deal closes by years end, likely taking about five years to open, restoring ecosystems and filling a, key gap in the East Bay shoreline and part chain for generations to come.