As the Oakland Athletics have said for a while now, it’s “Howard Terminal or bust” in the East Bay. And it appears they are preparing for the “bust.”
The franchise wants the City of Oakland to approve its $12 billion mixed-use project in the Howard Terminal section of Oakland, which is situated on the waterfront next to the ship-heavy Oakland port. The proposal, which includes a $1 billion ballpark, will be voted on by the Oakland City Council on July 20. In the meantime, the A’s are exploring other potential home cities, namely Las Vegas.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Athletics’ owner John Fisher and team president Dave Kaval will visit the desert-oasis and entertainment capital of the world on Thursday and Friday. They intend to meet with local political leaders, hotel owners and also tour sites that could potentially host a new ballpark.
Kaval and Fisher have put a lot of thought into potential sites in Las Vegas, as detailed by the Review Journal’s Mick Akers in his report. But most relevant to Bay Area A’s fans is the widening gap between the City of Oakland and the Athletics.
Just recently, the city requested alterations to the project’s term sheet, throwing last-minute changes into the July 20 vote.
“There’s still some pretty big gaps that we’re dealing with, that we’re still having conversations with the city in advance of the big vote on the 20th,” Kaval said. “We’re hoping to take a positive vote on our actual term sheet, or one that’s a very close derivative. … So, I think we’re just hopeful we can get to something and at the end of the day we just need to come to a decision.”
Las Vegas Review-Journal
So while it’s certainly ironic to plan for a potential “bust” by taking a trip to Las Vegas, that’s exactly what the Athletics are doing. It appears up to the City of Oakland to ensure the A’s win big on July 20 and gain approval for their dream project at Howard Terminal, proximity to the port be damned.
(Photo courtesy LasVegasGuy)
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