Tag: Oakland City Council

A’s environmental report for Jack London Square ballpark released: City of Oakland goal park to be a destination

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland A’s team president David Kaval stands by the glass door at the Oakland Coliseum. Kaval  hopes if everything works out the construction of the A’s new park at Howard Terminal at Jack London Square should break ground by 2023 (file photo from the San Francisco Chronicle)

By Jerry Feitelberg and Joe Hawkes (SRS staff writers)

OAKLAND–The City of Oakland released an environmental impact report on Friday that proposes a new state of the art stadium for the Oakland A’s on the waterfront site at Howard Terminal. The new park would included 35,000 seats, 3,000 units of residential condos, housing, apartments, office working space consisting of 1.5 million feet and retail business space of 270,000 feet.

The A’s who have offices at Jack London Square will move the rest of their operations from their offices at the Oakland Coliseum to Jack London Square when the park is ready. The city said that they had envisioned big plans and ideas for the waterfront site and to convert it into a neighborhood for living, shopping, entertainment, and the A’s new park.

This is the A’s second attempt to get a park built in downtown Oakland their first attempt was at the Laney College location located at Lake Merritt but that was shot down after the college’s faculty staff objected to the A’s building a stadium at the site and it would disrupt business and traffic.

The A’s are now seeking the Howard Terminal site this time they have the city behind them on this project not to mention the 2018 legislation bill AB734 which the legislature passed which requires all complaints against the construction of the new park be filed under 270 days.

If the A’s can not move to Howard Terminal it had been suggested that the A’s could stay at the Oakland Coliseum location but the A’s and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred are all in for moving to Howard Terminal and that the Coliseum location for a new park is not an option.

Kaval said that he was pleased about getting the environmental impact report out and looked at it as a step forward towards getting started on the new Howard Terminal ballpark “We are really excited to get our draft out there, and to advance the project forward so it can be voted on by the City Council this year, which is really our key goal.”

Opponents to the new park have stated that traffic, parking, poor transit access are some of the issues that dockworkers and maritime residents have said they are concerned about. The port is concerned about conducting their business while their are ball games taking place, traffic from retail, restaurants, and housing residents.

Stadium opponents spokesman Mike Jacob vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association said “that Oakland’s working waterfront is no place for a stadium, office and luxury condominium complex at this location.”

Jerry Feitelberg is an Oakland A’s beat reporter and Joe Hawkes is a news contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: NL opponents always set for Dodgers; Astros hold onto first, everyone out for them too; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @ChicagoSports

On Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, in the power rankings, everybody in the National League seems ready to chase the Dodgers as the team to beat every time they face the Dodgers.

#2 The Houston Astros the first place team in the AL West and have been giving their AL opponents some fits this season. Although they hit a rough patch, losing three of their last 10 games, they’ve been proving that opponents are going after them.

#3 The Milwaukee Brewers, who almost took out the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason last year, are another team who’s contending. They are just two games out of first place in the NL Central only trailing the Chicago Cubs. The Brewers are stocked with offense, including slugger Christian Yelich.

#4 Not too far in the distant future, the Tampa Bay Rays will be splitting their home games at Parc Olympic in Montreal. How much of a serious indication that their days in Tampa Bay are numbered?

#5 The Oakland City council are putting the Oakland A’s through the new stadium question test. Their main questions are paying for the new Howard Terminal location, and besides running a gondola from 12th Street BART to Howard Terminal, the council is looking for more answers to getting fans to the new stadium by other public transportation means.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish play by play announcer heard on 1010 KIQI San Francisco and does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s close out road trip, taking 2 out of 3 from Rays; Oakland City Council questioning new A’s ballpark

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from newsday.com: Oakland Athletics’ Ramon Laureano connects for a grand slam off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Colin Poche during the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 12, 2019, in St. Petersburg, Fla.

On the A’s on podcast with Jerry F:

#1 The Oakland A’s Ramon Laureano’s grand slam was certainly a huge part of the A’s 6-2 win on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

#2 The A’s had a decent road trip, finishing two games over .500 at 6-4, a nine-game swing that took them to Anaheim, Arlington, and Tampa Bay.

#3 The A’s Matt Olson is swinging the bats he clouted his 11th home run of the season with a home run off Rays pitcher Yonny Chirinos.

#4 Tampa has a potent line up being first in their division and very difficult to get a win at Tropicana Field and the Rays being tied with the New York Yankees in the American League East for first place the A’s came away from Tampa with two wins out of the three game series.

#5 The A’s still have a lot of work in front of them as they open up a ten game homestand starting Friday night against the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners will start Marco Gonzalez (6-6, 4.77 ERA) and for Oakland Chris Bassitt (3-2, 3.57 ERA).

#6 With the Oakland City Council not ready to vote on moving forward with approving the plans at Howard Terminal for the A’s new ball park.

#7 Oakland City Councilman Dan Kalb didn’t beat around the bush he made it clear that Council members want a full understanding about how finances for infrastructure and one of their biggest issues is on public transportation while the gondola from 12th Street BART to Jack London Square is a start Kalb is asking the A’s for a more comprehensive plan for public transit for the public to get to and from the ball park.

#8 In answer to the Council’s concerns on these issues, Oakland A’s media relations manager Catherine Aker said the team is working on an infrastructure plan. The A’s are expected to ask the city for $200 million for infrastructure plans.

#9 This was the same amount the Oakland Raiders asked for in order to build a new stadium, but the Raiders never got a deal with the city. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said public tax dollars will not be used for the project but a special tax around the new ball park a district tax will help pay for the infrastructure plans, including taxes coming from the 3,000 housing units and a 400-room hotel.

Listen for Jerry’s podcasts each Thursday on Oakland A’s baseball at http://www.sportsradioservice.com