The A’s and the City of Oakland are on the verge of a major milestone in their efforts to build a new $6 billion waterfront ballpark district at Howard Terminal in West Oakland.
According to ABC7’s Casey Pratt, Oakland is expected to release a finalized 3,500-page Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on Friday morning, which is a huge part of the framework for the project that has been in development since February 2020. Oakland published a draft of the EIR in February and held a public comment period, which resulted in more than 400 comments that needed to be analyzed over the past few months.
Pratt also shared a statement Thursday from Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf regarding the impending EIR release.
“Releasing the final Environmental Impact Report is a major milestone on our path to build a new waterfront ballpark district that will create 18 acres of beautiful public parks, more affordable housing, and good jobs for Oaklanders,” Schaaf said, via Pratt. “The 3,500-page document is thorough and exhaustive, and it ensures that the project is environmentally safe and sustainable. The completion of the EIR also keeps us on track to bring the project for a final vote to the City Council in 2022.”
In short, the EIR is a comprehensive document that will entail how the ballpark district will alter Oakland’s environment, existing residents, pollution, traffic, pedestrian safety, housing, local wildlife and surrounding area. Pratt reported that the City has also secured more than $352 million in funding to help pay for the off-site infrastructure for the plan, which was termed to be a major negotiating point for the A’s in this process.
Owner John Fisher and the A’s are committed to staking $5.77 billion of private capital for the project, which is centered around a $1 billion, 34,000-seat ballpark. The proposal also includes high-rise residential and commercial buildings, public parks and possibly a 3,500-seat performing arts center – if they don’t have to alter the construction plans to accommodate shipping boats with a turning basin.
Pratt shared a potential timeline for what’s next, as an official city council EIR certification vote could come as early as February.
This is absolutely monumental news for the A’s in their odyssey to find a new stadium. The creaking Coliseum on 66th Avenue in East Oakland has been home to the green and gold since 1968 and gone through few upgrades. The Raiders forever altered the ambiance of the Coliseum by constructing Mt. Davis in 1996 and obstructing views of the East Bay hills. Otherwise, the only key upgrades include new scoreboards, green seats instead of orange ones, luxury seating at Diamond Level behind home plate and down the lines, and a stand-up bar drinking patio in left field called The Treehouse.
In the past couple of decades, A’s fans have watched as the team targeted new stadium sites in downtown Oakland near the Fox Theater, dreamt up possibilities of a “Coliseum City”, held a hollow press conference in Fremont, and seen negotiations for a Laney College-area site dissolve before starting. A’s president Dave Kaval used the term “Howard Terminal or bust” earlier this year and there’s no signs of busting from Oakland now.
She has character, the Coliseum, but Major League Baseball and the A’s have made it clear the team can’t sustain a big-league outfit at the cement bowl by 880. Commissioner Rob Manfred has given permission to the A’s to explore relocation and they’ve been very public about their trips to the Las Vegas area throughout the year.
CNBC recently reported the A’s put in an offer to buy the plot of land currently home to the classic Tropicana hotel, but the team has yet to confirm the report. Kaval told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the team would release a short list of preferred Sin City-area sites shortly after the World Series, but the A’s are yet to make any such announcements.
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The finish line is in sight for the A’s to remain in Oakland. General manager David Forst recently told reporters that he remembers having a conversation with Billy Beane in 1999 about the possibility of a new stadium. Even then, the longtime A’s executive Beane thought the A’s were “getting close” to a solution.
Twenty-two years later and it appears the situation will finally come to a head. The Oakland City Council needs participation from the Alameda County Board of Supervisors under the current agreement, but both parties have made non-binding votes in favor of moving the project forward.
If this project proceeds through the proper channels, it could land at the feet of the A’s in weeks. The ball seems to be in their court. They’ve been touting themselves as “Rooted in Oakland” while flirting with Sin City. It seems they got the money figured out, the proper governmental parties involved, and made through infinite hoops required to hammer out an EIR.
With some ‘ayes,’ from the City Council, this project could be a reality within the matter of weeks. There is still more work to be done, but this is a huge step in solidifying the vision of the project.
So, when could shovels be in the ground? Let's get ahead of ourselves.
Back on July 20, Oakland project manager Molly Maybrun said, “There is a requirement that the ballpark commence construction no later than 2025. With an absolute outside date of May 28, 2028.”
But it shouldn’t take that long to get this going if the project progresses without delays. For reference, the Santa Clara City Council approved the EIR for Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 15, 2009. The 49ers held a groundbreaking ceremony on April 19, 2012, about two years and four months later.
Using a similar timeline for the Howard Terminal ballpark and a hypothetical February EIR approval date from the Oakland city council, that’d put the A’s groundbreaking ceremony at June 2024.
