Oakland, CA (My Sportsbook) - The Oakland Athletics have abandoned their plans to relocate to the city of Fremont.

The Athletics had planned to build a stadium in the city, which is about 20 miles south of Oakland, but there has been strong opposition from residents and businesses in the area of the proposed location.

A presentation to the Fremont Chamber of Commerce and City Council, scheduled for Tuesday, had already been postponed, and Athletics owner Lew Wolff sent a letter to the mayor of Fremont on Tuesday.

"After much consideration, today we informed Mayor Wasserman and City Council members that the Oakland Athletics will cease efforts to relocate our franchise to the City of Fremont," Wolff said in a statement.

"I expressed my regrets and gratitude, especially to those people who shared our vision and spent endless hours in support of our proposal. However, it became increasingly clear that our ballpark project faced significant delays ahead and I could not, in good conscience, continue to lead our team down this path."

Wolff had announced his plans to move the team in November 2006, a proposal that included a 32,000-seat ballpark and a shopping area.

The new ballpark was originally expected to cost between $400 million and $500 million, with construction time about 24-to-36 months. The team was hoping to be ready to move for the 2012 season, but delayed that target date by two years after running into opposition.

Wolff said his focus is "now on baseball," but maintained his wish to find a new location in the Bay Area.

"My goal and desire for the organization is to determine a way to keep the team in Northern California," Wolff added. "This goal has not changed."

The Athletics have played in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum since relocating to the Bay Area from Kansas City in 1968. The building, which the team shares with the NFL's Oakland Raiders, has undergone significant changes over the past 41 years.

Many of the upgrades have been done to accommodate the Raiders, fueling Wolff's desire for a baseball-only ballpark.