Friday, 26 February 2021

Oakland one step closer to building new A's waterfront ballpark

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) - The city of Oakland just got one step closer to building that new waterfront ballpark for the Oakland A's in Jack London Square. 

On Friday, the city of Oakland published the much-anticipated draft environmental impact report on the Oakland A's Ballpark Waterfront District Project, at the proposed Howard Terminal site in Jack London Square.

"This is an analysis of every potential environmental impact this project could have on air quality, water quality, traffic and, it creates required mitigations so people can rest assured that this ballpark will not negatively impact the environment or their quality of life,” Mayor Libby Schaaf said. 

The city of Oakland commissioned the report. The A's are the underwriters. 

The ESA consulting firm did the analysis. That is the same consulting group that did the EIR for Levi Stadium. 

A's president Dave Kaval says the report for the Howard Terminal site is very favorable.

“Very positive! A lot of times when these reports come out there are things in them that are impossible to solve but, some of the things around transportation and air quality. There are going to be some improvements that are needed around railroad safety but, those things are all achievable,” Kaval said. 

The East Oakland Stadium Alliance, a group that includes the longshoremen's union issued a statement in opposition which reads in part:

"We anticipate that the Howard Terminal Draft EIR will once again confirm the obvious and what everyone already knows -- that the current Coliseum site remains the ideal and most logical location for a new ballpark that will make A’s fans proud to call home. This is especially true since the Coliseum site already has an approved Environmental Impact Report."

Now that the environmental impact report is in, the Oakland City Council can vote on whether or not to approve the stadium project by the end of this year.

"There is really nothing in here that's a show stopper that would prohibit us from building this ballpark,” Kaval said. 

However, time is ticking. The A's current lease at the Coliseum expires in 2024.



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