Ok, This is Pretty Cool

CNN is running a story about Oakland's potential new stadium. It sounds pretty cool.

Cisco Systems Inc. has its way, the Oakland Athletics' new ballpark in Fremont will be the stadium of the future.

Fans will swipe electronic tickets stored on cell phones. Bleacher bums will view instant replays at their seats with laptop computers. And digital advertising displays will be able to switch images based on the buying habits of the people walking by through data embedded in their cell phones.

That was the vision that A's owner Lew Wolff laid out to Fremont City Council members this week in a pitch for Cisco Field, a planned ballpark featuring the company's technology, Fremont Mayor Bob Wasserman said Thursday.

"It's fabulous -- the technology is something else," Wasserman said. "It went over my head. It only takes about 10 seconds to go beyond me when you're talking about technology. I can't say I understand it all, but it's going to be quite a ballpark."

Wolff's pitch came just weeks after Cisco CEO John Chambers delivered a less-than-subtle presentation at Oracle OpenWorld about the advances that could be possible at a new ballpark in the San Francisco Bay area.

It will be interesting to see if the new Yankee and Mets stadium offers similar innovations. We are entering an age where wireless technology could redefine how we watch sports. Camden Yards revolutionized ballparks over a decade ago, but could Oakland do it again?

And um... can anybody tell me what the hell is in the centerfield of that picture?