Golden Gate Fields Moves Closer to Becoming a Waterfront Park, and East Bay Leaders Start Dreaming Big

The Bay Area's last horse racing track is one step closer to becoming one of its biggest new shoreline parks.

Elected officials from Albany, Berkeley and Sacramento toured the closed Golden Gate Fields on Monday, Oct. 5, KQED reported, as the nonprofit Trust for Public Land works toward buying the roughly 160-acre property on the Albany-Berkeley border and handing it to the East Bay Regional Park District.

How the money comes together

The property is appraised at $175 million, a figure that includes the current owner, the Stronach Group, removing all of the above-ground structures, according to the park district. The state is covering the largest share: a budget bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom set aside $125 million from Proposition 4, the climate bond voters approved, according to state Sen. Jesse Arreguín's office. The park district has committed $20 million from Measure WW, a 2008 parks measure, and the Trust for Public Land is raising the remaining roughly $30 million from private donors and other public sources, KQED reported.

Because of the Prop 4 money, the site must be used mainly for parks and open space, Arreguín's office said.

Key votes ahead

Several approvals still have to happen. The park district board is expected to formally agree to take ownership at an Oct. 20 meeting. The California Wildlife Conservation Board and the State Coastal Conservancy are scheduled to vote on releasing the state funds in November and December. After that, the Trust for Public Land has until Dec. 15 to exercise its purchase option, according to the group's state director, Guillermo Rodriguez, as quoted by KQED. The park district expects the property to change hands by spring 2027.

What could go there

Nothing has been decided. The park district says it will run a public planning process with Albany and Berkeley from 2027 through 2029, with construction coming in phases as money allows. Albany already held a packed first community meeting last week, and Mayor Peggy McQuaid told KQED residents floated ideas ranging from public access to development that could bring in revenue.

Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii said she'd like to see open shoreline and sports fields. Arreguín suggested a museum or educational site about the wetlands that existed before the track was built. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks said housing isn't entirely off the table, but noted that under the land's zoning, Albany voters would have to approve any homes, and the needed infrastructure would be costly.

Golden Gate Fields ran its final race in June 2024 after 83 years. Unlike Tanforan in San Bruno and Bay Meadows in San Mateo, which became a shopping center and a mixed-use neighborhood, this track looks set to become public land. "We're ending the preamble, and now the work begins," McQuaid told KQED.