Tidewater Boating Center on the Oakland/Alameda Estuary Dedicated Saturday

The new Tidewater Boating Center – a three-building complex that houses the Oakland Strokes and the East Bay Regional Park District’s Recreation Department — will open in a dedication ceremony Saturday at 1 p.m. 

The Tidewater staging area and boathouse, just across Alameda's High Street Bridge, are part of Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Park which was created in the 1970s.

Working with Oakland Strokes, a rowing organization looking for a facility, the Park District acquire a California State Grant (Prop 40) and used its own Measure CC funds, passed in 2004 to build a boating complex to house both the Strokes’ junior rowing team and the Park District’s recreation department.  

The Park District broke ground on the complex in 2009 and completed the facility in January of 2011. The $5.4 million facility sits on the shore of the Oakland estuary.

The East Bay Regional Park District and Oakland Strokes have an outreach program for urban youth to encourage rowing skills and outdoor water recreation. 

Saturday's dedication ceremony is open to the public and will begin promptly at 1 p.m. The program includes officials from East Bay Regional Park District, the Oakland Strokes, Senator Loni Hancock and Oakland Vice Mayor Ignacio De La Fuente.