The Oakland Athletics handed their vision for an enormous stadium and mixed-use project — to be built on the Howard Terminal section of the Oakland port — to the City of Oakland, and the city wasted little time in making a few alterations to the deal, releasing them on Friday.
And with the ultimate vote on the project just days away on July 20, the A’s aren’t too happy about that. Team president Dave Kaval said the city’s plan is a “step backwards,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. He wants the City of Oakland to vote on the term sheet the Athletics put forth in April, not this new proposal.
Chief among the city’s concerns are the number of tax financing districts within the project and the amount of affordable housing on the property.
“We remain far apart and what was released today does not work for the A’s, lacks specifics and a yes vote on that is a no vote on the project,” Kaval said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “We don’t agree with it. So it means we have no agreement at Howard Terminal. Howard Terminal is our last location to make Oakland work.”
I continue to be shocked at how Kaval and the A’s expect this gargantuan project to be rammed through so quickly. At a total cost of $12 billion, its size demands time to mull it over — perhaps even years. Some projects that size take decades to approve.
But as Kaval said — and has been saying — the Athletics say this is their last attempt to stay in Oakland, and no other plan will do. Anything can happen, but this is certainly a rough development for Bay Area A’s fans.
Bay Area Sports Hub 
Dear A’s Supporters and Oakland Community Members and Organizations:
Elements of the A’s management are conducting a well orchestrated propaganda campaign in order to coerce
the Oakland City Council to enter into an agreement, detrimental to both the city and community, to construct
a new A’s stadium at the Howard Terminal. That campaign promotes the false notion that the Howard Terminal
Proposal is the only way for the A’s to remain in Oakland. The truth is that the A’s can remain in Oakland and
the community can benefit much more by building a new stadium, with features similar to those in the Howard
Terminal Proposal, at the current Coliseum location.
The propaganda campaign seeks to minimize the traffic and environment problems and disruption of port operations,
which are extensively documented in the environment impact report, that would occur if a new stadium is built
according the Howard Terminal Proposal. It also ignores the potential port job losses and acceleration of
West Oakland gentrification which would result from implementing such a proposal. Contrary to assertions made
by the propaganda campaign, constructing a new A’s stadium at the current Coliseum location would generate
just as many jobs as constructing one at the Howard Terminal.
The true purpose of constructing a new A’s stadium at the Howard Terminal is to enrich the Fisher family though
real estate speculation in the area surrounding the new stadium and not the welfare of the community and fans.
A number of labor and community organizations are being used as political pawns in the propaganda campaign. Among
those is the Alameda Central Labor Council which is a wing of the AFL/CIO rather than a coalition of local labor
unions such as the ILWU. (The Alameda County Labor Council decision to actively support the Howard Terminal
proposal was not voted on by the local membership.)
Please contact Oakland City Council members and make it clear to them that you are aware of the aforementioned
facts, and remind them that building a new A’s stadium at the current Coliseum location is not only the most
economical new stadium option, but also the one which would require the least amount of taxpayer funding.
Finally, it is highly questionable, despite the most careful planning and best of intentions, whether a
Howard Terminal A’s stadium is capable of generating positive revenue for the city of Oakland and its
residents. The reality is, the port of Oakland generates more revenue in a week, than an A’s stadium could
generate in an entire year, under ideal circumstances.
Best Regards,
Paul Romero
PS: My contact info. is as follows.
Phone: (510)482-2769
E-Mail: paulr@rcom-software.com
Address
——-
8460 Skyline Blvd.
Oakland, CA 94611
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