West Oakland residents say Ballers have changed their outlook on the neighborhood
A couple living near Raimondi Park where the Oakland Ballers will play as part of the Pioneer League say the impact of the team has been a needed change in their neighborhood even before their first game at home. The improvements all around them have already changed their long-term plans in the Bay Area.
"Oh yeah, we feel a lot better about where we live and deciding to buy here and make this be our home," said Bill Klein-Reed, a West Oakland resident who can walk to Raimondi Park from his house.
Klein-Reed and his husband moved into the neighborhood in 2020, one of the first to buy on that block after previously living in Oakland. But the pandemic stopped all of the momentum the couple says was building in the area. Concerns over safety and improvements in the neighborhood were starting to frustrate them when the Ballers announced they would be moving in to play home games. They quickly noticed a change that benefited all of the residents near the park.
"It's just really exciting for the neighborhood and there's a lot of energy that's come back in the last couple months that wasn't here," Klein-Reed said.
The couple loves Oakland, they say it is one of the greatest cities to live and work in as two people who grew up outside of the Bay Area. Missing sidewalks and illegal dumping are no longer the same concern for them. While they aren't die-hard baseball fans, they did enjoy going to games as a way to spend time with friends and family. They are already planning to invite loved ones to come visit them on a game night.
"We probably will go a few times a month," Andrew Klein-Reed said.
A statement that surprised his husband who only thought they would go to a handful of games the whole summer.
"A month? Whoa, alright! A new baseball fan!" Bill Klein-Reed said.
One aspect that they will also benefit from is the activity that surrounds Raimondi Park. Food options and social gatherings that come into the neighborhood will be another way to enjoy where they live even if they aren't in the stands on a game night. It's a timeline they never could have imagined; just a year ago they were considering moving out of the neighborhood even though they believed in the community.
"Yes we are, we actually talked about it, and we're going to stick it out, and see how things go, now that the Ballers are in town," said Andrew Klein-Reed.
