I’m following with fascination the situation in Oakland, Calif. I’m an A’s fan, and they have been trying to get approval to build a new baseball stadium for several years.
The proposed stadium project is on the waterfront and is meant to help revitalize East Bay with new residential units, office space, a hotel, a performance space and parks. Meanwhile, the current stadium is 55 years old and is the sixth-oldest stadium in Major League Baseball.
However, based on recent reports, it doesn’t seem like the city council will vote in favor of the new stadium. In fact, Major League Baseball gave its blessing to the A’s to “explore other markets” after sharing its concern about the “rate of progress on the A’s new ballpark effort with local officials and other stakeholders in Oakland.”
If the plan for the new stadium falls through, the A’s will likely move. That will leave Oakland with no major professional teams, as the Raiders moved to Las Vegas, and the Warriors moved to San Francisco.
I have to imagine the exoduses have been an embarrassment to the city. The mayor responded to MLB’s statement with, “We share MLB’s sense of urgency and their continued preference for Oakland. Today’s statement makes clear that the only viable path to keeping the A’s rooted in Oakland is a ballpark on the waterfront.”
Right now, it appears the A’s hold all the cards. So here’s the kicker: even if the city council denies the new stadium for the right reasons (e.g. community benefit obligations, affordable housing obligations, etc.), and the A’s continue to play hardball, it will be the city council that will be considered the bad guys.
As a result, the council members will need to carefully craft their message. For example, do the city council members want to be known as the elected officials who let the last major professional team slip through their fingers? That would be a dubious honor.
On top of that, it doesn’t appear the elected officials have moved with any sense of urgency, nor have they even offered alternative solutions. In the past week, Alameda County officials delayed a vote on project financing. In fact, the East Bay Times wrote that “county leaders have been hesitant to go along.”
Thus, that’s why it’s no surprise that no one thinks the A’s will stay in Oakland much longer, and that’s sad.