Wednesday, 27 October 2021

Future of the A's: Oakland supervisors to push ballpark project forward

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- The future of the Athletics in Oakland remains uncertain, but the team did secure an important vote Tuesday night.

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution to potentially contribute tax dollars to the waterfront ballpark project.

It's unclear if Howard Terminal near Jack London Square in Oakland will ever house the Athletics, but Mayor Libby Schaaf says there is hope.

"We have put together a win-win project that is not just good for the A's, not just good for Major League Baseball, but is going to benefit this community," Mayor Schaaf said.

For now -- the A's will continue playing their home games at the Oakland Coliseum while continuing to set their sights on the proposed $12 billion waterfront ballpark district.

Now a step closer to reality -- albeit a small step, following approved support of a non-binding resolution by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors Tuesday night, voting to "opt-in" to a tax district the city of Oakland intends to create.

"The non-binding vote sets the terms by which we can then send the lawyers off to actually draft the binding agreements," Schaaf said.

If the project eventually breaks ground, city and county incremental property tax dollars collected for 45 years would be used to reimburse the Athletics for up-front costs associated with building public parks, affordable housing and other public infrastructure.

But not the ballpark or its operations.

"The Oakland A's are going to be putting in north of $6 billion to build this waterfront ballpark district,' Schaaf said.

Schaaf is hopeful an environmental impact report for the project will be issued by year's end, adding she fully expects the A's to continue exploring Las Vegas as back-up option for a ballpark.



from KRON4 https://ift.tt/3En0W9d


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