Howard Terminal Ballpark is a proposed
baseball stadium
A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...
to be built in the
Jack London Square
Jack London Square is an entertainment and business destination on the waterfront of Oakland, California, United States. Named after the author Jack London and owned by the Port of Oakland, it is the home of stores, restaurants, hotels, Amtr ...
neighborhood of
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
. It would serve as the new home stadium of the
Oakland Athletics of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, and replace the
Oakland Coliseum
Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home b ...
as their current home. After several unsuccessful attempts to build a new stadium, both in Oakland and elsewhere, the Athletics landed on their current plan, which is to build a 34,000-seat stadium at Howard Terminal. The site is currently a parcel of land (previously used as a marine terminal for
container cargo
A container port or container terminal is a facility where Intermodal container, cargo containers are transshipment, transshipped between Intermodal freight transport, different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment ma ...
operations) owned by the
Port of Oakland
The Port of Oakland is a major container ship facility located in Oakland, California, in the San Francisco Bay. It was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. As of 2011 it was the f ...
. After securing the site, the Athletics plan to have the stadium built and operational after the team's lease expires at the Oakland Coliseum in 2024.
Ballpark timeline
* 2001 – The
Uptown site for a new ballpark is proposed, gets rejected by then-Oakland mayor
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of ...
. The City of Oakland suggests a site near the
Oakland Estuary
The Oakland Estuary is the strait in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, separating the cities of Oakland and Alameda and the Alameda Island from the East Bay mainland. On its western end, it connects to San Francisco Bay proper, while it ...
, but never comes to fruition.
* 2005 – The 66th Avenue site is considered.
* 2006 – Cisco Field plan is announced in
Fremont.
* 2009 – Fremont location is abandoned after public resistance.
* 2010 – City of Oakland proposes waterfront site near
Jack London Square
Jack London Square is an entertainment and business destination on the waterfront of Oakland, California, United States. Named after the author Jack London and owned by the Port of Oakland, it is the home of stores, restaurants, hotels, Amtr ...
at Victory Court for a new ballpark.
* 2011 – City tables the Victory Court site in favor of a proposed three-venue development at the Coliseum site titled ''Coliseum City''.
* 2012 – Cisco Field in
San Jose is announced, the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
object due to territorial rights.
* 2014 – The A's began talks with an architect to build a baseball-only stadium at the Coliseum site.
* 2015 – The
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
declines to hear case seeking to enable a move to San Jose.
* 2016 – The team reveals they will choose between the Port of Oakland, Coliseum site, and the Peralta area for a new stadium.
* 2017 – The team chooses Peralta area of Oakland near
Laney College
Laney College is a public community college in Oakland, California. Laney is the largest of the four colleges of the Peralta Community College District which serves northern Alameda County. Laney College is named after Joseph Clarence Laney. Th ...
, is rejected by college board and surrounding
Chinatown neighbors.
* 2018 – The team proposes to buy the Coliseum site outright in exchange for paying off the remaining $135 million debt owed by the City of Oakland and
Alameda County
Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...
.
* 2018 – The team chooses Port of Oakland/Howard Terminal site and releases renderings.
* 2020 – The timeline for Howard Terminal ballpark is reportedly impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
* 2021 –
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, concerned with the slow progress on the Howard Terminal project, allows the A's to explore relocation options outside of Oakland. As a result, non-binding agreements were made for the Howard Terminal ballpark project by the City of Oakland and Alameda County, respectively.
* 2022 – The Howard Terminal ballpark project's
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is certified by the City of Oakland. Subsequently, the
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) voted to remove Howard Terminal as port priority use.
Uptown Oakland and Oakland Estuary (2001)
The first of the proposed new ballpark sites was a location in
Uptown Oakland
Uptown Oakland is a neighborhood in Oakland, California, located in the northern end of Downtown. It is located roughly between West Grand Avenue to the north, Interstate 980 to the west, City Center and 14th Street to the south, and Broadway to ...
. In a 2001 study,
Populous (formerly HOK Sport) had suggested this location as the prime site for a ballpark. However, plans to build a park there were dismissed by then-Oakland Mayor
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of ...
due to the concern of the ballpark ruining the housing development of the neighborhood. Brown opted to sell the site to a condominium builder to whom he allegedly had ties. The City of Oakland also considered a site near the
Oakland Estuary
The Oakland Estuary is the strait in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, separating the cities of Oakland and Alameda and the Alameda Island from the East Bay mainland. On its western end, it connects to San Francisco Bay proper, while it ...
for a stadium. However, the A's showed no interest in the site due to lack of public transit access. Additionally, much of that land had already been sold to a condominium developer.
66th Avenue (2005)
Then-
Oakland Athletics owner
Lewis Wolff presented his vision for the team's venue to the
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority on August 12, 2005. The ballpark he proposed would have been on 66th Avenue just north of the
Coliseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...
. The stadium would have been built on what is currently zoned industrial land and would have included a Ballpark Village which would have included shops and either a hotel or apartment building in one of the outfield walls of the park.
Victory Court and Coliseum City (2010)
On November 16, 2010, the City of Oakland proposed a waterfront site in the
Jack London Square
Jack London Square is an entertainment and business destination on the waterfront of Oakland, California, United States. Named after the author Jack London and owned by the Port of Oakland, it is the home of stores, restaurants, hotels, Amtr ...
area for a new A's ballpark. The site, called Victory Court, was near the
Lake Merritt Channel along the
Oakland Estuary
The Oakland Estuary is the strait in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, separating the cities of Oakland and Alameda and the Alameda Island from the East Bay mainland. On its western end, it connects to San Francisco Bay proper, while it ...
. The city conducted an environmental impact report for the Victory Court site and informed Major League Baseball of its decision. The city began accepting public comment on the ballpark EIR at the December 1 Planning Commission meeting held at
Oakland City Hall
Oakland City Hall is the seat of government for the city of Oakland, California. The current building was completed in 1914, and replaced a prior building that stood on what is now Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Standing at the height of , it was the first ...
. By the end of 2011, the city had tabled the Victory Court site in favor of a proposed three-venue development at the Coliseum site titled ''Coliseum City''.
Cisco Field
Fremont (2006)
In April 2006,
Lewis Wolff took his Ballpark Village proposal to
Fremont, a city 26.5 miles (42.65 km) southeast of Oakland, where a large parcel of land was available just north of
Mission Boulevard and south of
Auto Mall
An auto row or auto mall is a business cluster with multiple car dealerships in a single neighborhood or road. Auto rows are distinct from car supermarkets which are a single, large dealership.
Economics
Auto rows, like mall food courts, are an ...
Parkway off
Interstate 880 and across from
Pacific Commons. The land was owned by the real estate firm
Prologis
Prologis, Inc. is a real estate investment trust headquartered in San Francisco, California that invests in logistics facilities. The company was formed through the merger of AMB Property Corporation and Prologis in June 2011, which made Prologi ...
and leased to
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
. A formal
press conference
A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...
to announce the existence of Wolff's ballpark proposal of Cisco Field was held on November 14, 2006. The plan would be to build a 32,000 to 35,000 capacity stadium on the parcel of land in addition to adding housing and shops.
Bud Selig
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig
(; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth Commissioner of Baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served as ...
,
commissioner of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
and
John Chambers, the CEO of Cisco Systems along with Wolff were in attendance.
The proposal of the ballpark encountered problems such as construction delays, lack of public transportation, and Fremont residents voicing concerns of traffic congestion, noise, and pollution. This led to Wolff officially ending the ballpark search in Fremont on February 24, 2009.
San Jose (2012)
In 2012, it was proposed that Cisco Field be constructed in
Downtown San Jose
Downtown San Jose is the central business district of San Jose, California. Downtown is one of the largest tech clusters in Silicon Valley, as well as the cultural and political center of San Jose.
History
The town was first settled in 1777. T ...
immediately adjacent to
SAP Center
The SAP Center at San Jose (originally known as San Jose Arena and the HP Pavilion at San Jose) is an indoor arena located in San Jose, California. Its primary tenant is the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League, for which the arena h ...
and
San Jose Diridon Station
San Jose Diridon station is the central passenger rail depot for San Jose, California. It also serves as a major intermodal transit center for Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley. The station is named after former Santa Clara County Supervisor ...
at the corner of Montgomery Street and Park Avenue. For the A's to have moved to San Jose, either the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
would have had to rescind their territorial rights on the area, or at least 23 of the 30 MLB owners would have had to vote in the A's favor and force San Francisco to give up their territorial claim to
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together f ...
. Lew Wolff stated, "My goal and desire for the organization is to determine a way to keep the team in Northern California." The Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Jose had been acquiring the properties needed at the Diridon South site. The available land, only , would have given rise to a very intimate stadium. As a result of its small size, it was speculated that it would have been very hitter-friendly.
The Giants repeatedly refused to cede their territorial rights to the San Jose area (which had been yielded by the A's in the early 1990s when the Giants had been in danger of relocating to
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...
, previously both teams had shared the South Bay), although the team is open to sharing
Oracle Park with the A's on a temporary basis if the A's have plans for a permanent stadium in the works.
In August 2012, Commissioner Bud Selig's ''Blue Ribbon'' committee, which had been implemented to study potential ballpark locations for the Athletics, met with both Oakland and San Jose officials. At the Oakland meeting, the committee was met with a proposal for a ballpark on the site of Howard Terminal, a
container terminal on the Oakland waterfront near Jack London Square currently owned by the
Port of Oakland
The Port of Oakland is a major container ship facility located in Oakland, California, in the San Francisco Bay. It was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. As of 2011 it was the f ...
. Wolff stated the site "has no ability to be implemented for a ballpark." Major League Baseball, however, stated that it was their preferred location for a new ballpark in Oakland, and later formed a plan to develop the location.
On October 5, 2015, the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
rejected San Jose's bid on the Athletics.
Back to Oakland
On June 25, 2014, the Athletics reached a 10-year lease agreement with the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Authority to stay at the Coliseum. Bud Selig commended both sides for reaching a deal on a lease extension, while offering, "I continue to believe that the Athletics need a new facility and am fully supportive of the club's view that the best site in Oakland is the Coliseum site." On July 16, 2014, the extension was officially approved.
On August 6, 2014, the A's commenced talks with a possible architect to build a baseball-only stadium at the Coliseum site, according to Wolff.
Ownership change (2016)
In 2016, Lewis Wolff resigned as the majority owner of the team.
John J. Fisher then took over as majority owner. Fisher appointed
Dave Kaval
David A. Kaval (born October 28, 1975) is the seventh and current president of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. He previously served as president of Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes and founded the Golden Baseball Le ...
as team president and head of the stadium project. Around the same time, the
Raiders announced their relocation to Las Vegas in 2020. Also, the
Golden State Warriors moved to
Chase Center
Chase Center is an indoor arena in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The building is the home venue for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and occasionally for the University of San ...
in San Francisco in September 2019. This left the Athletics as the last professional sports team in Oakland. The team revealed three stadium location options: the current Coliseum site, the Peralta area near
Laney College
Laney College is a public community college in Oakland, California. Laney is the largest of the four colleges of the Peralta Community College District which serves northern Alameda County. Laney College is named after Joseph Clarence Laney. Th ...
, and Howard Terminal at Jack London Square.
Peralta site (2017)
After a comprehensive study of three proposed ballpark sites (Coliseum site, Howard Terminal, and
Peralta Community College Headquarters District), the A's ownership determined that the best potential site to fit the needs of the A's and create the most community partnership opportunities and benefits was the Peralta site. The team announced that the Peralta site would be the preferred choice for the A's new ballpark on September 13, 2017. The area is located between
Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon in the center of Oakland, California, just east of Downtown. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. It is historically significant as the United States' first official wildlife refuge, designate ...
and
I-880 where there are warehouses, parking lots and administrative offices for the Peralta Community College District.
Opposition to the project included members of the Peralta Federation of Teachers, select student and facility groups of neighboring
Laney College
Laney College is a public community college in Oakland, California. Laney is the largest of the four colleges of the Peralta Community College District which serves northern Alameda County. Laney College is named after Joseph Clarence Laney. Th ...
and a local coalition of organizations led by the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN). After several months of preliminary discussions amongst the A's and the Peralta Community College's Office of the Chancellor Jowel Laguerre, Chancellor of Peralta Community College District, a statement was issued by the Chancellor indicating that he had been instructed to "discontinue planning" for the ballpark after a closed session meeting of the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees on the evening of December 5, 2017.
Current plan (2018–present)
Ballpark at Howard Terminal proposal
In November 2018, a plan for a "jewel box" design for the stadium at Howard Terminal met with a "tepid welcome," with the next version in February 2019 showing a "smoother and more circular stadium." At the time, the A's still had not acquired Howard Terminal.
The A's proposed plan is to build a privately financed, 34,000-seat ballpark at Howard Terminal, including fixed seats and general admission experience areas. The ballpark will feature an elevated park that wraps and frames the bowl, coming down to meet the waterfront and a promenade called Athletics Way. The proposed ballpark is intended to create a new waterfront district with a mixture of real estate, including affordable housing, offices, restaurants, retail, small business space, parks, and public gathering spaces.
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) was hired as the lead designer in developing plans for both the stadium and the surrounding development around the new ballpark. It was BIG's first Major League Baseball stadium commission. A revised design by BIG came out in February 2019, retaining its rooftop park with community access
and developing "3.3 million square feet of housing, 1.5 million square feet of commercial and office space, a hotel and a performance center in the area surrounding the stadium."
Located near
Downtown Oakland
Downtown Oakland is the central business district of Oakland, California, United States; roughly bounded by both the Oakland Estuary and Interstate 880 on the southwest, Interstate 980 on the northwest, Grand Avenue on the northeast, and Lak ...
, the Charles P. Howard Terminal is west of Jack London Square and is adjacent to railroad tracks and large industrial facilities. The waterfront property is currently owned by the Port of Oakland. Howard Terminal has not been used by a cargo vessel since 2013. On April 26, 2018, the Port of Oakland commissioners voted 6-0 unanimously to enter in to a one-year agreement to negotiate exclusively with the Oakland A's. This agreement allows the A's to pay the Port $100,000 to study economic feasibility and environmental, transportation and accessibility issues. A similar agreement with the A's regarding the Coliseum site was also agreed upon with the city on May 16, 2017.
By March 2019 the MLB had completed an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Howard Terminal ballpark proposal.
On February 22, 2019, the Oakland A's announced a partnership with the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP) to enhance the long-term sustainability of the neighborhoods of West Oakland and improve the quality of life for local residents. The partnership is part of a series of environmentally focused plans being promoted by the A's, including committing to
LEED gold standard of design with the ballpark; a target of reducing car trips to the new ballpark by 20%; achieving net zero emissions; possibly building an electrically powered
gondola
The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, ...
that connects the ballpark to mass transit; and adding protections to the site in anticipation of future sea level rise caused by
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
. The A's are also working with the City of Oakland on a race and equity analysis to ensure the project produces community benefits for Oakland residents.
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...
, according to the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', voiced concerns over the Howard Terminal as the ballpark's location in April 2019, due to issues of safety concerning the active train tracks on one side of the site. Maritime officials had also voiced concerns that bright lights from the stadium might interfere with the Inner Harbor's shipping traffic at night.
On May 11, 2019, the Alameda Labor Council,
AFL–CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
, voted to support the Oakland A's efforts to build a new ballpark at Howard Terminal. The Council expressed strong support for the project given its potential to provide significant economic benefits for working families throughout the East Bay. According to a report issued by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, the privately financed ballpark project would create approximately 2,000 construction jobs and even more permanent jobs would be generated by the ongoing operation of the ballpark. In addition to the A's ballpark project at Howard Terminal, the council also officially endorsed the A's redevelopment project at the Coliseum site, provided it also includes community benefits.
Coliseum redevelopment
As part of the ballpark plan, the Athletics have committed to redevelopment of the Coliseum site, which was owned jointly by the City of Oakland and Alameda County. In March 2018, the A's sent a letter to the City of Oakland proposing to purchase the entire Coliseum property, including
Oakland Arena
Oakland Arena is an indoor arena located in Oakland, California, United States. From its opening in 1966 until 1996, it was known as the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. After a major renovation completed in 1997, the arena was renamed T ...
and surrounding parking lots, and develop it into a new ballpark and ballpark village in exchange for paying off $135 million of debt owed on the property by the City of Oakland and Alameda County. On April 23, 2019, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 5–0 to approve the term sheet between the County and the Oakland Athletics providing for the possible purchase by the A's of the county's 50% interest in the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Complex for $85 million. On September 27, 2019, the
Oakland City Council
The Oakland City Council is an elected governing body representing the City of Oakland, California.
Since 1998, Oakland has had a mayor-council government. The mayor is elected for a four-year term. The Oakland City Council has eight council membe ...
filed a lawsuit against Alameda County over the pending sale of the Coliseum site to the Athletics alleging that the sale violates the
Surplus Land Act
Surplus may refer to:
* Economic surplus, one of various supplementary values
* Excess supply, a situation in which the quantity of a good or service supplied is more than the quantity demanded, and the price is above the equilibrium level deter ...
. After intervention by Major League Baseball commissioner
Rob Manfred
Robert Dean Manfred Jr. (born September 28, 1958) is an American lawyer and business executive who is serving as the tenth commissioner of Major League Baseball. He previously served as MLB's chief operating officer. Manfred succeeded Bud Selig a ...
threatening to relocate the Athletics, the Oakland City Council officially dropped its lawsuit against Alameda County. As of 2019, then, the Coliseum was owned 50% by the City of Oakland and 50% by the Athletics.
In July 2021, the Oakland City Council asked city staff to pursue negotiations with two Black-led developer groups to purchase their share of the Coliseum, one led by the African American Sports and Entertainment Group and the other by
Dave Stewart and
Lonnie Murray
Lonnie Murray is a Major League Baseball (MLB) agent. She was the first Black woman to be certified as a player agent by the MLB Players Association.
Career
Murray says sports were a large part of her life, including playing sports while grow ...
. Both plans include housing and hotels. The City has indicated any plan would also need the support of the Athletics, who would still own half the site. In November 2021, the Council voted to move forward with the African American Sports and Entertainment Group proposal.
Howard Terminal progress
On May 13, 2019, the board commissioners of the Port of Oakland voted 7–0 to approve and authorize the Executive Director to execute the initial term sheet for a term of four years. In October 2019, California Governor
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California f ...
signed into law two bills intended to streamline the stadium process at the state level.
''Ballpark Digest'' in May 2020 reported that the Howard Terminal ballpark plan "may end up being delayed or even scrapped, as the COVID-19 pandemic and underlying economic uncertainty will certainly impact facility planning for the Athletics."
Just prior to this announcement, the Athletics' vice president of communications had stated "the timeline may be adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
[
] In July 2020, the East Oakland Stadium Alliance held a protest with "hundreds of cars" on the A's Opening Night to protest the Howard Terminal proposal and the Coliseum sale.
In 2020, the Athletics were sued by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, the Harbor Trucking Association, the California Trucking Association, and
Schnitzer Steel. Schnitzer Steel has a neighboring facility to Howard Terminal. They alleged that the Athletics were not qualified to be certified under a California law that would expedite any legal challenge against the team over environmental concerns. This was because the team did not meet a Jan. 1, 2020 deadline for consideration. The suit eventually was dismissed by the Alameda County Superior Court. However, the almost year-long suit delayed the process of the team getting the stadium cleared for construction by at least a year.
On May 11, 2021, with the concern of slow progress on the project,
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
instructed the A's to begin exploring options for relocation from Oakland. That same day, Dave Kaval commented to media that the A's remaining in Oakland was "Howard
erminalor bust", implying that the failure to secure approval for the Howard Terminal ballpark project would lead to the A's leaving Oakland.
On July 20, 2021, the
Oakland City Council
The Oakland City Council is an elected governing body representing the City of Oakland, California.
Since 1998, Oakland has had a mayor-council government. The mayor is elected for a four-year term. The Oakland City Council has eight council membe ...
voted 6-1-1 to approve a non-binding term sheet to continue negotiations with the A's for the new ballpark. However, Dave Kaval said that the team does not agree to those terms since it was not the term sheet the team provided. In spite of this, the A's agreed to resume talks with the City of Oakland to work on a financial deal to build the ballpark.
On October 26, 2021, the
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors is the five member non-partisan governing board of Alameda County, California. Members of the Board of supervisors are elected from districts, based on their residence.
History
The board was created in 1855, ...
voted 4-1 on a non-binding agreement to create an infrastructure financing district from property tax revenue of the future ballpark. With this agreement,
Alameda County
Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...
and the City of Oakland would use this tax revenue over a 45-year period to pay for infrastructure near the proposed ballpark, such as improving the roads, adding new sewer, water, and electrical lines.
On February 17, 2022, the Oakland City Council voted 6-2 to certify the
Environmental Impact Report for the planned Howard Terminal stadium development. On June 30, the
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission voted 23-2 to remove port priority use from the Howard Terminal site. In late September, the Athletics missed a city deadline to finalize the stadium plan by, pushing negotiations to 2023.
Commissioner of Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...
Rob Manfred
Robert Dean Manfred Jr. (born September 28, 1958) is an American lawyer and business executive who is serving as the tenth commissioner of Major League Baseball. He previously served as MLB's chief operating officer. Manfred succeeded Bud Selig a ...
warned that negotiations stretching into 2023 would create "uncertainty" while Kaval had previously said that it would "all but doom" efforts to keep the team in Oakland and lead to a potential relocation to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
where the A's have engaged in negotiations with city officials and local business companies about building a new ballpark in the area.
With the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
's
Raiders having already relocated to Las Vegas, the A's would be the second Oakland team to relocate there if the Howard Terminal plans fell apart.
See also
*
Rays Ballpark, proposed new stadium for the
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...
References
External links
Official team site for new ballpark related information
{{Portal bar, North America, United States, Baseball, Architecture
Oakland Athletics
Sports venues in Oakland, California
Proposed buildings and structures in California
Proposed stadiums in the United States
Oakland Athletics stadiums