At his seventh annual State of the City speech on Feb. 9, Gonzales announced plans to bring a Major League Baseball team to San Jose. "Can we make this happen? I don't know, but I think it's worth trying. That's what dreams are all about," Gonzales said.

Only hours later, residents gathered there for their monthly neighborhood association meeting to discuss proposed ballpark sites. To better clarify the situation, San Jose Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Harry Mavrogenes and Economic Development Director Paul Kutko attended the meeting.

According to Kutko, once the city decided that a professional or amateur sports team could beef up revenue, the city spent the last year looking to bring a major league baseball, football or basketball team to San Jose. With that plan in mind, the mayor and city council created a sports stadium task force to review potential sites. Preferred sites include the Del Monte parcel currently slated for a KB Home condo and townhome development. The property is located on Auzerais Avenue west of Bird Avenue. Another possible location could be near Diridon Station bordering on Park Avenue.

"This is way, way, way early in the process," Kutko said. "[Looking at these sites] was very much an exploration."

The city wants to build a 42,000 seat urban ballpark on 12.5 to 15 acres, similar to SBC Park in San Francisco or the Camden Yards in Baltimore. Being an urban setting, there would only be 900 on-site parking spaces, with a heavier reliance on public transit. And a ballpark close to downtown would help generate business in the immediate area, Kutko said.

Although Mavrogenes said the Diridon site is closer to downtown, the Del Monte site straddles the Caltrain line which could, theoretically, open a station close to Del Monte. Another added bonus to the Del Monte site is that the city could purchase the land from KB Home rather than assembling land from different owners in the Diridon area, Kutko said.

Kutko assured the crowd that there were still numerous obstacles to overcome before a ballpark could come to San Jose, including voter approval for the park. The city would also have to secure some private funding, and convince the San Francisco Giants baseball organization to give up its territorial-hold over San Jose.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has told the media that seceding San Jose to another team may not be an option because the Giants have "territorial rights" to Santa Clara County. Kutko, however, mentioned that a 75 percent vote of baseball owners would allow San Jose to have a team of its own.

But not everyone is a fan of the idea.

"Is there any consideration for people in the Del Monte?" Del Monte neighborhood resident Gary Roberts asked. "What's going to happen to them?"