Golden Gate Fields on Track to Become Waterfront Park
East Bay officials took a goodbye tour Monday of the shuttered Golden Gate Fields racetrack, which is slated to take the first step toward becoming a vast public open space for residents later this year.
In July, California agreed to foot the bulk of the $175 million bill for the nonprofit Trust for Public Land to purchase the 160-acre parcel at the border of Albany and Berkeley, with hopes to transform the Bay Area’s final horseracing track into a waterfront park.
The officials picture walking trails, sports fields and cafes replacing the iconic red and green grandstands and mile-long oval track that drew horseracing fans — and college students looking for a cheap beer — for more than 80 years.
“This place is so intertwined with so many people’s memories, and it’s super exciting to be… protecting this place for generations to come to continue to play,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, the Trust for Public Land’s state director. “But play something different — bet on kids running and not necessarily horses going around a racetrack.”
In June of 2024, Golden Gate Fields held its final race, bringing an 83-year run, and horseracing in the Bay Area, to an end. Rodriguez recalled that as a UC Berkeley student in the 1990s, attending the track’s Sunday “Dollar Days,” featuring $1 entry tickets, hotdogs and beers, was a “rite of passage.”
“It’s where we filled up with all our carbs,” he said.
Across the bay, the racetrack at Tanforan in San Bruno shuttered more than 60 years ago. Bay Meadows in San Mateo closed in 2008 as interest in the sport waned and concerns grew about the safety of the horses at the tracks.
Animal rights activists estimated that thousands of horses died at Golden Gate Fields during its operation.
Both other tracks have been replaced with massive developments — a sprawling shopping center where Tanforan once stood and mixed-use housing and commercial space at Bay Meadows.
Rodriguez said that while those uses make sense for their locations, when Golden Gate Fields shuttered, it was the public’s turn to get a new open space.
The Trust for Public Land announced earlier this year that it would purchase the property from the Canadian-owned Stronach Group, which still operates Santa Anita race track in Arcadia, and transfer it to the East Bay Regional Park District.
While restoration and recreation will be at the forefront, what exactly will become of the parcel that once housed more than 1,000 horses and hundreds of workers in its “backstretch” hasn’t yet been decided.
Rodriguez said there will be a robust community engagement process with nearby cities, which already began in Albany last week.
Mayor Peggy McQuaid said between the 100 people who packed into the Albany Community Center in person and even more who joined the meeting virtually, there were “a lot of different ideas from the community” — from public access to revenue-generating development.
“Everyone is excited about what’s really possible and exploring all the options,” she said.
The elected officials who toured the site Monday expressed similar hopes.
“I’m really excited to have it go back to nature, to have this open shore line, to have beautiful fields. There are a lot of folks interested in having sports fields,” Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii said. “I have three dogs so I’m very excited to be able to bring them here and walk.”
California State Senator Jesse Arreguín said he would love to see some sort of museum or educational site focused on the natural habitat and role of the waterfront, which was wetlands before the racetrack was built.
He also expressed support for some commercial use, especially since Golden Gate Fields generated more than $1 million in special revenue for the city of Albany, and about $700,000 for its school district.
“I would see some level of development in terms of restaurants or cafes … that also I think add to the attractiveness of open space,” East Bay Assemblymember Buffy Wicks said. “That also gives more revenue-generating opportunities.”
“There’s a lot that can be done with this, and I think the mayor of Albany said it best — It’s such an enormous space that we can have all of these things,” she continued.
Wicks said that when she first learned the track would close and land use would transition, she immediately asked whether it could be used for housing. While residential development isn’t entirely off the table, she said, it would come with “unique challenges.”
Because of the land’s zoning, Albany voters would have to approve any residential development, according to Wicks. Adding the infrastructure needed to support housing on the land would also come with a significant cost.
“These are not insurmountable things, but they also just present a different kind of reality,” she said.
There are also parameters to the funding that the Trust for Public Land will use to purchase the $175 million parcel. Nearly three-fourths will come from statewide funds for Proposition 4, a voter-approved bond for climate projects, including land conservation.
The park district has pledged $20 million for the project, and the nonprofit is raising the remaining $30 million through private donors and additional public funding.
The East Bay Regional Park District is expected to formally accept that they will take ownership of the property at a meeting on Oct. 20. The California Wildlife Conservation Board and California State Coastal Conservancy, two of the entities responsible for the state funds, will both hold votes on whether to approve the appropriations in November and December, respectively.
After all three votes, Rodriguez said the Trust for Public Land has until Dec. 15 to exercise its option agreement to purchase the property.
“We’re ending the preamble, and now the work begins,” McQuaid, the Albany mayor, said.