An artist rendering of the Oakland A’s gondola that is expected to take fans from the 12th Street BART station in downtown Oakland to Howard Terminal (photo from Athletics Nation)

A’s New Ballpark July 20 might Not be the Day you Expect

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

OAKLAND–The Oakland Athletics last champions of the American League Western Division go into the All Star Break with a winning record for the third consecutive season and in second place 3 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros. July 20 will mark an important vote by the Oakland City Council to open the way for the construction of the Howard Terminal park.

Here are some key points:

1-The A’s committed to $450 million construction for the ballpark. However, the overall project on the table is in the billions.

2- The A’s will commit to a 20-year non-relocation agreement, but the City of Oakland wants a deal that will keep the team in Oakland for 45 years.

s3-City of Oakland, under the law, requires developers include affordable housing in projects, the A’s want an exemption. The team want future taxes to take care of that, Oakland City Council has a big problem with that.

4-Oakland taxpayers are still ‘not over’ on past leases/deals with the Raiders and Warriors and they are on the hook for millions of dollars after both teams left. This has nothing to do with the City or the A’s, but figures greatly in the minds of residents and voters.

5-Chinatown is less than one mile from the proposed site of the Howard Terminal Park. Traffic and parking will present a challenge. The amount of parking spaces (the team proposed 2,000 parking spaces) at the ballpark for the 35,000 seat ballpark and would affect the Chinatown neighborhood and their financial future.

It is more than just the building of the new baseball park. There are many moving pieces here that the City of Oakland and the Oakland A’s still will have to agree on. The Jack London Square/Port of Oakland area where the Howard Terminal is to be built is a busy place. Amtrak trains go-by right there in the streets of Oakland and that could be problematic during game-day crowds, walking from BART station at 12th street, as fans will have to cross train tracks.

Other modes of transportation for the one-mile walk, like Gondolas have been proposed, but more than likely bridges for people crossing would have to be build, infrastructure is key for safety of the people attending a baseball game.

In conclusion: This July 20 the Oakland City Council vote might not be the last one or decisive that many believe it will be; they already have said they might need more time to analyze the financial impact and we might have to wait at least until September. In the meantime Las Vegas looms as A’s officials have already made a few “scouting” trips to Sin City.

The Oakland City Council has a full plate these days and some issues that believe it or not, are more important than keeping the A’s in Oakland. Amid a recent spike in homicides and crime in general, the Oakland City Council voted to defund the police as they diverted $18 million from the police department into community prevention programs, prompting Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong to strongly voice his displeasure with such policy as he said “This will make it tougher having less officers on the field, particularly for marginalized communities like deep East Oakland” and added “We see clearly that crime is out of control in the City of Oakland, and our response was for less police resources”. According to all official stats, homicides, shootings, robberies and carjackings are up at alarming pace in Oakland.

I want the Athletics to stay in Oakland, where they belong. but Las Vegas doesn’t present any of the hurdles the team encounters at the proposed site in the City of Oakland. The construction of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the Raiders took less than three years to be built. The Athletics and the City of Oakland cannot stop time, the clock keeps ticking.

The best option still remains. If there was a plan to keep the A’s and build in the current location, that would be an asset. I challenge anybody to tell me another pro-sports facility in the Bay Area with better access than the Oakland Coliseum.

Highway 880 to the west and BART station a 10-15 minute walk from the Coliseum, to the east. Plus an Amtrak, Capitol Corridor train, with scheduled stop at the Coliseum, those trains travel between San José and Sacranmento. where fans also come to watch A’s baseball.

There is plenty of land to re-develop that area, around the Coliseum. Mr. Rob Manfred, Commissioner of Baseball doesn’t support that idea and that is why he told the A’s to look for another location, or say Adiós to the Bay Area.

And so it goes. The Athletics return home for their first home-stand post-All Star Break on Friday July 16 for the first of 3 games against the Cleveland Indians then a quick 2-game set vs. the divisional rivals Los Angeles Angels.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead Spanish play by play announcer for the Oakland A’s on flagship station 1010 KIQI LeGrande San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com