The Burlingame Voice

Top Golf Offers a Preview

I'm excited by the prospects of something to do in B'game besides eat, workout and get one's nails done.  Building something other than offices and high-density, rack-and-stack housing is a good thing!  So the long-awaited Top Golf facility at the driving range that we discussed here is quite welcome.  Top Golf will be offering a preview of their plans this Wednesday, April 10 at 6 pm at the Rec Center where reps from the company will also listen to community ideas and concerns.

I took the opportunity to get in touch with the Top Golf PR team and learned a bit more in advance of the meetings.  There are 49 US venues and four international sites already operating with 10 venues scheduled to open in 2019 including San Jose which is to break ground soon (2Q19).  Like the other sites, the B'game proposal includes 3 stories (approximately 53’ max height of the building) with 102 bays and three main full service bars with seating areas, food and alcohol served throughout the whole venue.  The company estimates that sites draw from a 45 mile radius so San Jose would overlap a bit but not if you use drive time instead of distance to estimate draw.  Clearly the concentration of hotels on our Bayfront make for a build-in draw.

It should make for a nice addition to partially ease our entertainment drought in town.  Of course, traffic and lighting will need to be addressed, but at least it offers something to do.  I will miss Gabriel & Daniel's Mexican Grill that operates in the Pro Shop and it wouldn't be crazy for Top Golf to offer them a good lease on site to continue as a tenant.  I will also be interested to hear if B'game residents will be offered a discount the way San Mateo residents get a break at Coyote Point or Mountain View residents get at Shoreline Amphitheater.  Anyway you look at it, it is an upgrade from the current set-up.

 

Sweating in B'game

The prevailing wisdom is that retail is struggling on the Avenew, on Broadway and elsewhere in town.  Examples include the demise of Books, Inc. and Anthropologie--not exactly Mom and Pop operations that still couldn't cut it here.  But exercise is a booming business in retail areas.  The Comicle touched on this in January as people were thinking about New Year's resolutions and I'm addressing it as bathing suit season approaches.  The Comicle noted

A city retail study in February found that traditional retail growth has slowed but fitness providers and restaurants are still eager to expand. Across the Bay Area, 53 fitness leases were signed in the past three years.  Being near, or even in the same building, as housing and office uses is deliberate. “It’s really about convenience and daily need,” said Weinhaus. “People are coming to us day in and day out.”  Gyms and fitness centers can thrive in upper floors and basements, where traditional retailers might struggle, said Helen Bulwik, a veteran retail consultant and senior partner at the Newport Board Group.  “You can kind of stick a gym anywhere. It’s kind of like Starbucks.”  “We haven’t really been able to find a new location in the city in a long time,” said Frank Napolitano, president of 24 Hour Fitness. “Dense downtown cores tend to have the boutique-type operators. They don’t need as much space.”

Here in B'game we have an ever expanding menu of choices from old school full-service gyms like Primetime on Rollins Rd. or Being Yoga in the B'game Plaza to specialized set-up like Pilates ProWorks on B'way to the very one-on-one approach using a personal trainer such as B-Fit on Park Rd.  I've been a client at B-Fit for two years and can vouch for the one-on-one approach as a great way to get pushed into shape and strength.  In the middle of the spectrum are Basecamp (Dethrone) on California in the old Route 66 building and the newest, Barry's Bootcamp on Howard.  Locals are curious about Barry's after watching a complete renovation of what was just an old Quonset Hut that housed the Bacci Food Center in the 1950's.  I gave Barry's a try and really enjoyed the Red Room where the workout alternates between treadmill and floor/weight/band exercises.  Not so sure about the name in view of the Fifty Shades of Grey reference, but the music and the instructor kept it from being too painful.  The building itself has been completely transformed keeping large skylights and adding showers and a juice bar.  B'gamers have a full range of choices and price points so there really is no excuse for not sweating in Burlingame.  Here's the new Barry's

 

B'game Baseball Alums

The Daily Journal's Terry Bernal is shining a spotlight on four B'game baseball alums who are working their way towards the majors.  

When it comes to producing next-level talent, there are no San Mateo County public schools that compare to Burlingame High School.  The Panthers saw four alumni — pitcher Vince Arobio, infielder Phil Caulfield, outfielder Jonathan Engelmann and pitcher Zac Grotz — finish the 2018 season in the affiliated minor leagues. If you count free agent major league pitcher Scott Feldman, that makes five Burlingame grads in the pro ranks.

I know a couple of these guys from my prior days as a baseball dad and coach at the BYBA level.  Kudos to Panther coach Shawn Scott as Vince notes here 

“I think it had a lot to do with that high school team,” Arobio said of the pro success. “Just playing for Shawn, he just expected more from us. And it just seemed like our group from when I was a freshman to a senior, those guys were playing (Little League) All-Star teams together and they just stuck together all the way through high school.”

The guys' achievement speaks well of the BYBA program, the coaches all along the way, Park & Rec for making the B'game fields some of the best anywhere and the Panther boosters who help out with finances.

Hall of Famer: "Stats" Jamieson

We have some real personalities in town one of whom is being honored for his long stint as the announcer for Bgame Panther baseball.  The Daily Journal noted that Tyler Jamieson is being inducted into the Bgame Athletics HoF at next year's LIttle Big Game.  I know Tyler as "Stats" Jamieson--because he keeps the stats as well as doing the announcing.  He's also the memory of the team in many ways having announced for almost 20 years--last Friday was his 500th game at the mic.

Jamieson has shown the Peninsula that a first-class production can go a long way to making high school players feel special. From announcing the starting lineups for both teams, to between-inning music and even providing the walk-up music for Panthers batters at home games, Jamieson makes sure the players get a taste of big-time baseball.

Tony Brunicardi, a 2003 Burlingame graduate and a current assistant baseball coach at Skyline College, remembers Jamieson as simply a part of the team. Brunicardi said the best was when Jamieson handed out his own postseason awards for the baseball team.

“He had the ‘Tyler Jamieson awards.’ He had his own rookie of the year, his own Cy Young award,” Brunicardi said. “I appreciated it as much back then as I do now.”

Having heard the selections for the Tyler Jamieson awards for several years, including one that was given to my son, I can tell you Stats pays close attention and has a sly sense of humor that makes it all so much more fun.  Congrats, Stats!

Next Up: Lime Scooters

There is a definitely split of opinion about the Limebikes sprinkled about town as you can read here.  I just saw the first Lime scooter in San Mateo and it can't be long before they are buzzing along in B'game.  The complaints in the city are growing and I anticipate the same here unless the authorities step in about where they can ride and where they can be left for the next rider.  Here's what they look like.

Biking Around B'game

I finally saw the first LimeBike in use by someone other than a neighborhood kid goofing around on it with his buddies--not that there is anything wrong with that either, but it wasn't really the intent of the program.  Apparently B'game kids often do not have bikes, but they do have phones and apps to get a LimeBike.  The City announced the program a couple week ago

The City of Burlingame is excited to introduce a six month bike sharing pilot in Burlingame. The bike sharing program will be operated by LimeBike, a company headquartered in San Mateo with bike sharing programs nationwide.

The LimeBikes will be available around town. Rides will cost $1 every 30 minutes. To ride, riders need to download the app onto their smartphone, scan the bike number, strap on a helmet, ride, enjoy and park smart.

The secret code "City of Trees" will get you five free rides in the app.  Oddly enough, the rent-a-bikes in San Mateo are blue and have set places to be parked using a stanchion.  The City email about our program seems to predict concern about the Limebikes being parked willy-nilly on sidewalks and such.  I'll be interested to see what kind of demand there is here since the one I see on 25th Ave. in San Mateo seldom moves.  Here's one outside the B'way post office.

March 18th addition:  Lori's post this morning reminded me of how many people are complaining about the "LitterBikes" all over the place.  Then I was in downtown San Mateo and saw a LitterBike on the corner....of San Mateo.  That is interesting because San Mateo uses the Blue bikes that have fixed stations to return to.  I have to wonder how San Mateans feel about our limey showing up on their streets?  Here is is

Soccer on the Bayfront?

The Burlingame Dragons are a welcome addition to the local sports scene and if the team owner stays on course we may see them playing in a better stadium than the BHS football field.  The Chronicle reports

But Nick Swinmurn, the founder of Zappos.com and owner of the Burlingame Dragons soccer team, says there is one and he hopes to fill it in a couple of years.  Soccer fans who don’t want to drive to San Jose to watch the Earthquakes might enjoy going to a bayside stadium and supporting a San Francisco team. After pregame stops at the beer garden and food stand.

The SF Football Club (which has applied for a USL franchise) hopes to build a stadium just south of San Francisco International Airport. It would cost $3 million to build and seat about 6,000, with room to add additional capacity if the team’s popularity grows. While the Burlingame site is preferred, Swinmurn and team president Jordan Gardner are also looking at other sites in San Francisco.

The Chron's map is not very detailed but it appears the dirt in question is Murray Field, behind the driving range just south of Bayside park.  Top Golf is poised to move into the same area, so this could be the third new development after the drive-in project.  And the Hyatt Cinema project looms out there.  The ripple effect on the Peninsula Ave overpass should not be underestimated, but it appears San Mateo will do whatever it wants there anyway......

$15 million Is a Lot of Golf

We have followed the redevelopment of the Bayfront driving range for quite sometime all the way back to criticizing the original contract made by a Council that couldn't negotiate its way out of a wet paper bag.  Most recently the skating rink vs. badminton vs. better golf controversy was discussed here.  The DJ was paying attention on to the quiet council meeting before the holiday

The Burlingame City Council unanimously approved Monday, July 3, continuing exclusive negotiations with the company wishing to rejuvenate the former Burlingame Golf Center.

The sizable rent offering once the facility is up and running amounts to nearly $1 million more than the initial figure floated by the company specializing in golf-style chipping games amidst a sports bar setting.  Additionally the company will construct a new facility offering 102 hitting bays spread across three stories along with a full bar and restaurant plus additional amenities expected to cost roughly $15 million.

The company offered a $500,000 payment to address community benefits as well. Once the final terms of the contract are agreed upon, a completed contract will return before the council for ultimate approval.

If you want to bother, you can click through and read the part of the article where the B'game socialists want the new money for "affordable housing".  These little irritants feel no compunctions about grasping at any bit of revenue the City stumbles into.  As for the real residents, i.e. those without an EPA law consortium feeding them bad ideas, we will be asking why we need a higher sales tax if TopGolf is adding to the city coffers so nicely?  But it is on the November ballot.  At least we won't need golf at the new Rec Center!

Panthers Come So Close

The Daily Journal's Terry Bernal has a great write-up on the CCS Division II final game that the Panthers lost to Menlo by a score of 1-0.

But both team ultimately left their best baseball on the diamond as McGarry settled in with Burlingame right-hander Gray Goodman for an epic pitching duel, competing into a scoreless fifth until Menlo manufactured a run in the top of the inning.  Menlo executed a double-steal with Kasser swiping second, then Kevin Alarcon racing home when the catcher’s throw went through to second base.

The double-steal was one of the situations (Panther coach Shaun) Scott addressed during the mound conference. The play called for Burlingame catcher Robbie Harrigan to throw through to second base, but with shortstop Mitch DeMartini cutting in front of the bag to take a short throw and fire back to the plate. Harrigan’s throw was offline, however, forcing DeMartini to dive back across his body merely to glove it, allowing Kevin Alarcon to score uncontested.

There was plenty of other drama associated with the game, some of which hit very close to home for me, so I encourage you to click through and read the whole piece.  Kudo's to both Menlo and B'game.  This brings back great memories of the Panthers winning it all in 2010.

Shared Fields, $hared Upkeep?

How to pay for the upkeep of athletic fields in B'game is a very long-in-the-tooth discussion.  Having a separate school district instead of the schools being a city department like they are where I grew up can make for an adversarial situation.  The DJ is covering the City Council discussion and you should click through for the full details, but here are the highlights since no decision is imminent.

The Burlingame City Council expressed an interest in — but no commitment to — sharing the financial burden of resurfacing turf fields at local elementary schools frequently used for community enrichment programs.  In lieu of offering Burlingame Elementary School District officials money for laying new synthetic surfaces at Burlingame Intermediate and Franklin Elementary school campuses, councilmembers unanimously agreed to study the issue further.

The discussion was brought by school district officials approaching their city colleagues for half of the more than $2 million expected to be needed for installation of new playing surfaces next year.

Since the school district owns the only turf fields in Burlingame, much of the use can be attributed to their almost constant availability when some of the city’s natural grass fields are subject to limitations during inclement weather.  City officials though are planning to invest $1.75 million in laying artificial turf at Murray Field on the Bayshore, which some councilmembers said could result in less wear and tear on the campus surfaces.

At the end of an historically rainy season, this topic will float to the surface.  Here is a photo of the Franklin field from a couple of years ago.