They don’t yet own the land, but the Oakland A’s now have their design lineup to start the planning efforts on how to fit a ballpark between Lake Merritt and an elevated freeway.

The firms to be announced Thursday include one of the nation’s leading architects of sports facilities, HOK, as well as Snøhetta, which designed last year’s addition to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The first round of planning efforts will be led by Sasaki, a Massachusetts firm, with Oakland’s Studio T Square rounding out the team.

Although HOK has the most experience in the realm of ballparks and stadiums — its recent work includes Avaya Stadium, a soccer facility in San Jose — the initial emphasis will be on a more abstract question of how a ballpark can be a good neighbor on a site that jostles several distinct communities.

“We want people who haven’t specialized in sports, but will look at this as an urban planning effort,” said A’s President Dave Kaval. “That area has a lot of stakeholders.”

The A’s hope to build a privately financed, 35,000-seat ballpark on 12.5 acres bounded by Interstate 880, the Lake Merritt estuary, Seventh Street and Fifth Avenue. Most of the land is owned by Peralta Community College District, which operates Laney College nearby.

If everything comes together, the target date to throw the first pitch is 2023.

Unlike Oakland Coliseum, surrounded by parking and asphalt, the new ballpark would be an integral part of the surrounding urban landscapes, the A’s say. Chinatown is a short walk away, as is the Jack London waterfront. Lake Merritt has become an increasingly important civic gathering spot, and nearby Eastlake and San Antonio neighborhoods to the southeast have concerns about gentrification.

“The context the park sits in requires thinking at a larger scale,” said James Miner, who is leading the effort at Sasaki. The firm also worked on recent improvements at Lake Merritt, including the informal amphitheater by the mouth of the estuary.

“This is not just about a ballpark,” Miner said. “Transportation access and economic opportunities are key.”

The public aspect of planning efforts will kick into full gear in early 2018. Sasaki and Studio T Square will be at the front of such efforts. The ballpark design itself will be handled by HOK in partnership with Snøhetta, which also will take part in the urban design work.

Snøhetta’s role might seem surprising given that the firm, founded in Norway, focuses on cultural and educational buildings. But Snøhetta has a San Francisco office and was the architect for the ill-fated arena that the Golden State Warriors proposed for the city’s Piers 30-32, where the firm emphasized the public space aspects of the private building.

“We felt that Snøhetta brings a capacity to bridge the planning and design,” Kaval said. “We want an intimate ballpark that will introduce a new era in ballparks, not a fortress.”

Given the success of the Giants’ AT&T Park across the bay, it might not seem there’s need for a “new era” in ballparks. But Kaval and Miner point out that many teams have faced a slump in attendance after the novelty of a new home wears off.

“The A’s see an opportunity to redesign the delivery of baseball — make it more relevant and exciting for Millennials and a wider, more diverse community,” Miner said.

Before that opportunity can be pursued, the A’s need to reach an agreement with the college district on the sale or long-term lease of the land. The college district board will vote next month on whether to continue exploring such a partnership.

John King is The San Francisco Chronicle’s urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron