Oakland A’s New Howard Terminal Ballpark Could Cost Up To $12B
The Oakland Athletics’ proposed plan for a new ballpark at the Howard Terminal waterfront site now has an estimated $12B price tag attached, of which $450M would be spent on community benefits like affordable housing, and it would yield about $1B in tax revenue for the city’s general fund, as reported by the S.F. Business Times reports.
Plans for the new baseball park within a larger mixed-use project potentially delivering 3,000 housing units, up to 1.5M SF of office and life sciences uses and 270K SF of retail gained momentum after nearly a yearlong hiatus following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. If approved, the project would also deliver a 35,000-person capacity stadium, a 50K SF performance venue for up to 3,500 people, a 400-room hotel and 18.3 acres of open space for the general public.
The draft environmental impact report for the project was released on Feb. 26; however, the plans have come under fire from groups that want to see the A’s remain at their current home at the Coliseum due to concerns about impacts the project may have on maritime uses at the waterfront site, among other issues. The deadline for public comments on the report was originally April 12, but the city extended it to April 27.
Oakland A’s President Dave Kaval told KRON4 that he hopes the city council will hold an approval hearing for the project in June.
Despite the estimated $1B in tax revenue that the project will yield, a proposal by the A’s to use tax revenue to fund site infrastructure work has raised eyebrows among city officials, as reported by the S.F. Chronicle.
“We need a deal that’s good not just for the A’s but for the city, one that provides specific tangible and equitable benefits to our residents and doesn’t leave Oakland’s taxpayers on the hook,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement.
