After the City of Oakland voted “yes” on its own version of the Oakland Athletics’ proposed deal for a new waterfront ballpark in the East Bay, the A’s said they were “encouraged” by the vote, though the franchise previously expressed opposition to the city’s plan.
A’s president Dave Kaval made his statement from Las Vegas, however. He was there to tour potential stadium sites; the entertainment capital of the world is one proposed relocation city if the Athletics’ $12 billion mixed-use project near Oakland’s bustling port falls through.
Kaval said Wednesday the team “remains disappointed” that their April term sheet wasn’t voted on, but “by the same token we were encouraged there was a positive vote and we were encouraged there was some movement from the city.”
“We are still studying what it means,” he said by phone from Las Vegas. “We want to be thoughtful about responding because we were kind of surprised.”
Sarah Ravani/San Francisco Chronicle
Still, while Kaval said the A’s are thinking about how to respond, he didn’t confirm that he and team owner John Fisher will return to the negotiating table as the city would like them to, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s report. That means it’s possible the A’s could simply move on from their proposed Oakland project, planned for construction the Howard Terminal section of the Port of Oakland.
The city, led by Mayor Libby Schaaf, believes they’ve made enough concessions to lure the A’s back into finalizing a deal for the franchise to stay in the Bay Area. So how badly to the A’s want that waterfront stadium in Oakland? We’ll know soon enough after the A’s make their next move (no pun intended).
(Photo courtesy Robert Campbell)
Bay Area Sports Hub 
