‘A’s’ waterfront ballpark plans inch forward

Article posted by Coliseum, July 7^th, 2022

Image: Oakland Athletics

A California agency recently cleared the way for the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Oakland Athletics (US) to continue planning a $12 billion waterfront ballpark project.

‘USA Today’ stated that the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission voted 23-2 to reclassify a 56-acre terminal at the Port of Oakland as a mixed-use area where a new ballpark could be built. The vote is the first in a series of legal hurdles the team would have to overcome before it gets permission to break ground for the project.

The Oakland Athletics are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League West division. The team plays its home games at the Oakland Coliseum.

Apply for membership

The 63,132-capacity Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California (US). It is part of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home ballpark of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB).

The ‘A’s’ new venue plans include creating mixed-use development with up to 3,000 residential units, up to 1.5 million square feet of offices and up to 270,000 square feet of retail uses. The proposed development at the Port of Oakland’s Howard Terminal includes plans for a $12 billion mixed-use project built around a $1 billion, 30,000-seat waterfront ballpark.

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission is a California State Commission dedicated to the protection, enhancement and responsible use of the San Francisco Bay. In 2020, the Commission staff issued a report on the potential impacts of rising sea level.

‘USA Today’ further stated that the Commission followed the recommendation of its staff, which found the team demonstrated removing the terminal from port use “would not detract from the region’s capability to handle the projected growth in cargo”.

The ‘A’s’ are the last professional franchise remaining in Oakland after the National Basketball Association’s (NBA’s) Golden State Warriors relocated to San Francisco and the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders to Las Vegas in recent years. The defections weigh heavily on the Bay Area City of roughly 400,000 people, some of whom pleaded with the Commission to work harder to keep the team and the accompanying jobs.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said the approval moved the City closer to bringing “this bold vision into a beautiful reality and keep our ‘A’s’ rooted in Oakland for generations to come”.

She said in a statement, “Our City has historically been overlooked for major economic development, but today that story about Oakland changes.”

The two Commissioners and members of the public who opposed no longer classifying Howard Terminal for port priority questioned whether the Port of Oakland would have the room needed to expand as shipping traffic grows if a massive real estate development were in its midst.

Erin Wright, a third-generation longshoreman and member of ILWU Local 10 (labor union in San Francisco, California), said the maritime community opposes the project because it would interfere with the shipping and receiving of cargo – “Everyone with a working brain knows that the building of houses in an industrial zone is going to have a huge negative impact on all operations and lead to a downturn and degradation of our seaports. Our port is busier than it’s been in my 33 years. We need (Howard Terminal) for operations. We are using it, we have been using it every day.”

Last year, the Oakland City Council approved preliminary terms for the project but ‘A’s’ President Dave Kaval said the financial terms didn’t work for the team. Kaval said the team was proceeding with “parallel paths”, planning new ballparks in Oakland and Las Vegas.

The ‘A’s’ top-level minor league team, the Las Vegas Aviators, have played since April 2019 at a new stadium several miles Northwest of the Strip. It has 8,196 seats and 22 air-conditioned suites but is not considered suitable for long-term use by the ‘A’s’.

The Triple A team reported drawing an average of 6,590 fans during the 2021 season. The ‘A’s’, by comparison, have drawn noticeably few fans to the RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, which seats more than 63,000.

In Las Vegas, local news outlets have since 2021 tracked visits by ‘A’s’ team executives and have reported, sometimes citing unnamed sources, about team interest in several properties on or adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip.

Both the 20,000-capacity T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, home to the National Hockey League’s (NHL’s) Vegas Golden Knights since 2017, and the Allegiant Stadium also in Paradise, Nevada, a domed 65,000-seat, are within walking distance of Strip resorts. The NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders relocated from Oakland in 2020 and play at the spectacular Allegiant Stadium.

‘A’s’ executives have been focusing on two locations and have met with the owners of the Tropicana Las Vegas, an aging icon built in 1957 and namesake of a key Las Vegas Boulevard intersection.

In Oakland, the ‘A’s’ proposal includes a $1 billion privately-financed 35,000-seat waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal, which is currently being used as overflow parking for containers and trucks. The project also would include 3,000 residential units, office and retail space, hotel rooms, and an indoor performance center.

The team’s lease at the aging RingCentral Coliseum runs through 2024. The league has said rebuilding at the current location is not a viable option. In May, Major League Baseball instructed Oakland’s brass to explore relocation options if no ballpark agreement could be reached.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 250 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue