Oakland A’s $12B Ballpark Plan Moves Ahead After Alameda Votes To Help With Funding
The Oakland A’s $12B ballpark project at the Port of Oakland is moving forward after receiving a closely watched vote of support from the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
The board agreed at a Tuesday meeting to provide some funding for the Howard Terminal ballpark proposal at the Port of Oakland, which includes a 35,000-seat stadium on the waterfront as well as residential, entertainment, civic and mixed-use retail components.
The nonbinding decision comes about five months after the city of Oakland asked Alameda County to help with infrastructure costs to help move the project along, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The project has been in the works since 2017.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement the vote is a “historic action that creates a clear path to keep the A's rooted in Oakland and build a world-class waterfront ballpark district that will benefit Bay Area residents for generations to come.”
According to the proposal, the main feature of the project would be a modern, open-air Major League Baseball ballpark with a 35,000-person capacity to serve as the new home for the A's in Oakland. The 50-acre site would also include 3,000 homes, 1.8M SF of commercial space, a 400-room hotel and a 3,500-seat performance venue.
City officials initially hoped the project would be privately financed by the A’s, but have since said public financing is necessary, according to ABC7. The city also agreed to pay for off-site infrastructure needs.
A city-sponsored economic impact report predicts the county would get approximately $67M in tax revenue during the construction phase of the project, and $5.4M in property tax per year after, according to Oaklandside, though other estimates peg annual returns around $2M.
Those in favor of the project argue it would create jobs and new revenue sources for the waterfront site near Jack London Square, while critics voiced concerns Tuesday over the true cost of the project and potential environmental issues at the site, according to the Chronicle.
The project is the second major MLB stadium development to be proposed in California in the past year, joining that of the Los Angeles Angels, which is considering renovating or replacing its 45,483-seat stadium in Anaheim and adding other residential and commercial uses on nearly 130 acres of surrounding land.
The A’s will now complete an environmental review process and will need to get land use approvals from several public agencies before resuming discussions with the Port of Oakland to potentially reach a final real estate agreement.
