Oakland Ballpark

Towards the early 2000s, it was becoming clear that the Coliseum was inadequate for the long term future to host the Athletics and the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. Major League Baseball began pushing the team to pursue a new stadium either in Oakland or elsewhere. The Coliseum was the last facility in Major League Baseball that was also home to a National Football League team (the Raiders left Oakland and began play in Las Vegas starting with the 2020 season). It is also the last stadium remaining of the multi-purpose stadiums of the 1960s designed for both baseball and football in Major League Baseball. In recent years, the Coliseum has been criticized as being one of the "worst stadiums in baseball".[6] Problems cited include the large amount of foul territory and the addition of the "Mount Davis" upper deck of seats. The former allows for more foul-outs while the latter has been criticized for "ruining" the ambience of the original configuration. In addition, the stadium has been plagued with sewage issues which include flooding of the dugouts and clubhouses with sewage. The process of finding a new stadium began in 2001 with plans for a stadium in Oakland. After the first plans in Oakland along with plans for a stadium in Fremont and San Jose fell through, the Athletics arrived at a finalized plan.

• 1968 – The Kansas City Athletics move to Oakland and begin playing at the Coliseum.
• 1982 – The Oakland Raiders move to Los Angeles leaving the Coliseum as a baseball-only facility.
• 1995 – The Raiders move back from Los Angeles and the Mount Davis renovation is added to the Coliseum.
• 2001 – Uptown site is proposed, gets rejected by mayor Jerry Brown.
• 2005 – 66th Avenue site is proposed.
• 2006 – Cisco Field plan is announced in Fremont.
• 2009 – Fremont location is abandoned after public resistance.
• 2010 – City of Oakland proposes waterfront site in Jack London Square at Victory Court for a new ballpark.
• 2011 – City tables the Victory Court site in favor of a proposed three-venue development at the Coliseum site titled Coliseum City.
• 2012 – Cisco Field in San Jose is announced, San Francisco Giants object due to territorial rights.
• 2014 – A's began talks with an architect to build a baseball-only stadium at the Coliseum site.
• 2015 – United States Supreme Court rejects San Jose's bid on the Athletics.
• 2016 – Team reveals they will choose between the Port of Oakland, Coliseum site, and the Peralta area for a new stadium.
• 2017 – Team chooses Peralta area of Oakland near Laney College, is rejected by college board and surrounding Chinatown neighbors.
• 2018 – Team proposes to buy the Coliseum site outright in exchange for paying off the remaining $135 million debt owed by the city of Oakland and Alameda County.
• 2018 – Team chooses Port of Oakland/Howard Terminal site and releases renderings.
• 2020 - The Raiders leave Oakland for the second time, moving to Las Vegas.
• 2020 - Timeline for Howard Terminal ballpark reportedly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic

The first of the promising early sites had been a site in Uptown Oakland. In a 2001 study, Populous (formerly HOK Sport) had suggested this as the prime site for a ballpark; however, plans to build a park there were canceled by then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown due to the concern of the ballpark ruining the housing development of the neighborhood.[7] Brown (who later became governor of California) opted to sell the site to a condominium builder to whom he allegedly had ties. The City of Oakland also considered a site near the Oakland Estuary for a stadium; however, the A's showed no interest in the site due to lack of public transit access. Another possible location that was explored was land directly adjacent to the Coliseum, to the southeast, in what is currently overflow parking, which would have meant the two stadiums would share a parking lot. However, much of that land had already been sold to a condominium developer.[8]

Oakland Athletics owner Lewis Wolff presented his vision for the team's venue to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority on August 12, 2005. The ballpark he proposed would have been on 66th Avenue just north of the Coliseum. The stadium would have been built on what is currently zoned industrial land and would have included a Ballpark Village which would have included shops and either a hotel or apartment building in one of the outfield walls of the park.[9]

On November 16, 2010, the City of Oakland proposed a waterfront site in the Jack London Square area for a new A's ballpark. The site, called Victory Court, was near the Lake Merritt Channel along the Oakland Estuary. The city conducted an environmental impact report for the Victory Court site and informed Major League Baseball of its decision. The city began accepting public comment on the ballpark EIR at the December 1 Planning Commission meeting held at Oakland City Hall. By the end of 2011, the city had tabled the Victory Court site in favor of a proposed three-venue development at the Coliseum site titled Coliseum City.[10]

In April 2006, Lewis Wolff took his Ballpark Village proposal to Fremont, a city 26.5 miles (42.65 km) southeast of Oakland, where a large 143-acre (0.6 km²) parcel of land was available just north of Mission Boulevard and south of Auto Mall Parkway off Interstate 880 and across from Pacific Commons.[11] The land was owned by the real estate firm Prologis and leased to Cisco Systems.[12] A formal press conference to announce the existence of Wolff's ballpark proposal of Cisco Field was held on November 14, 2006. The plan would be to build a 32,000 to 35,000 capacity stadium on the parcel of land in addition to adding housing and shops.[13] Bud Selig, commissioner of Major League Baseball and John Chambers, the CEO of Cisco Systems along with Wolff were in attendance.[14]

The proposal of the ballpark encountered problems such as delays due to construction issues, lack of public transportation, and complaints from Fremont residents citing traffic congestion, noise, and pollution concerns. This led to Wolff officially ending the ballpark search in Fremont on February 24, 2009.[15]

In 2012, it was proprosed that Cisco Field be constructed in Downtown San Jose immediately adjacent to SAP Center and San Jose Diridon Station at the corner of Montgomery Street and Park Avenue.[16] For the A's to have moved to San Jose, either the San Francisco Giants would have had to rescind their territorial rights on the area, or at least 23 of the 30 MLB owners would have had to vote in the A's favor and force San Francisco to give up their territorial claim to Santa Clara County. Lew Wolff stated, "My goal and desire for the organization is to determine a way to keep the team in Northern California."[17] The Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Jose[18] had been acquiring the properties needed at the Diridon South site.[19] The available land, only 12–14 acres (4.9–5.7 ha), would have given rise to a very intimate stadium. As a result of its small size, it was speculated that it would have been very hitter-friendly.[20]

The Giants repeatedly refused to cede their territorial rights to the San Jose area (which had been yielded by the A's in the early 1990s when the Giants had been in danger of relocating to Tampa Bay, previously both teams had shared the South Bay),[21] although the team is open to sharing Oracle Park with the A's on a temporary basis if the A's have plans for a permanent stadium in the works.[22]

In August 2012, Commissioner Bud Selig's "blue ribbon" committee, which had been implemented to study potential ballpark locations for the Athletics, met with Oakland and San Jose officials. At the Oakland meeting, the committee was met with a proposal for a ballpark on the site of Howard Terminal, a container terminal on the Oakland waterfront near Jack London Square currently owned by the Port of Oakland.[23] Wolff stated the site "has no ability to be implemented for a ballpark."[24] Major League Baseball, however, stated that it was their preferred location for a new ballpark in Oakland, and later developed a plan to develop the location.

On October 5, 2015, the United States Supreme Court rejected San Jose's bid on the Athletics.[25]

On June 25, 2014, the Athletics reached a 10-year lease agreement with the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Authority to stay at the Coliseum. Bud Selig commended both sides for reaching a deal on a lease extension, while offering, "I continue to believe that the Athletics need a new facility and am fully supportive of the club's view that the best site in Oakland is the Coliseum site."[26] On July 16, 2014, the extension was officially approved.[27]

On August 6, 2014, the A's commenced talks with a possible architect to build a baseball-only stadium at the Coliseum site, according to Wolff.[28]

In 2016, Lewis Wolff resigned as the majority owner of the team. John J. Fisher then took over as majority owner. Fisher appointed Dave Kaval as team president and head of the stadium project.[29] Around the same time, the Raiders announced their relocation to Las Vegas in 2020 in addition to the Golden State Warriors move to Chase Center in San Francisco in September 2019. This left the Athletics as the last professional sports team in Oakland. The team revealed three stadium options in 2016, the current Coliseum site, the Peralta area near Laney College, or Howard Terminal at Jack London Square.[30]

After a comprehensive study of three proposed ballpark sites (Coliseum site,[31] Howard Terminal, and Peralta Community College Headquarters District), the A's ownership determined that the best potential site to fit the needs of the A's and create the most community partnership opportunities and benefits was the Peralta site. The team announced that the Peralta site would be the preferred choice for the A's new ballpark on September 13, 2017.[32] The area is located between Lake Merritt and I-880 where there are warehouses, parking lots and administrative offices for the Peralta Community College District.

Opposition to the project included members of the Peralta Federation of Teachers, select student and facility groups of neighboring Laney College and a local coalition of organizations led by the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN). After several months of preliminary discussions amongst the A's and the Peralta Community College's Office of the Chancellor Jowel Laguerre, Chancellor of Peralta Community College District, a statement was issued by the Chancellor indicating that he had been instructed to "discontinue planning"[33] for the ballpark after a closed session meeting of the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees on the evening of December 5, 2017.[34]

In November 2018, a plan for a "jewel box" design for the stadium at Howard Terminal met with a "tepid welcome," with the next version in February 2019 showing a "smoother and more circular stadium." At the time, the A's still had not acquired Howard Terminal.[35]

The A's proposed plan is to build a privately financed, 34,000-seat ballpark at Howard Terminal, including fixed seats and general admission experience areas. The ballpark will feature an elevated park that wraps and frames the bowl, coming down to meet the waterfront and a promenade called Athletics Way. The proposed ballpark is intended to create a new waterfront district with a mixture of real estate, including affordable housing, offices, restaurants, retail, small business space, parks, and public gathering spaces.[36] Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) was hired as the lead designer in developing plans for both the stadium[37] and the surrounding development around the new ballpark. It was BIG's first Major League Baseball stadium commission.[38] A revised design by BIG came out in February 2019, retaining its rooftop park with community access[39] and developing "3.3 million square feet of housing, 1.5 million square feet of commercial and office space, a hotel and a performance center in the area surrounding the stadium."[40]

Located near Downtown Oakland, the Charles P. Howard Terminal is west of Jack London Square and is adjacent to railroad tracks and large industrial facilities. The 55-acre (22 ha) waterfront property is currently owned by the Port of Oakland. Howard Terminal has not been used by a cargo vessel since 2013. On April 26, 2018, the Port of Oakland commissioners voted 6-0 unanimously to enter in to a one-year agreement to negotiate exclusively with the Oakland A's.[41] This agreement allows the A's to pay the Port $100,000 to study economic feasibility and environmental, transportation and accessibility issues. A similar agreement with the A's regarding the Coliseum site was also agreed upon with the city on May 16, 2017.[42]

By March 2019 the MLB had completed an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Howard Terminal ballpark proposal.[43] On February 22, 2019, the Oakland A's announced a partnership with the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP) to enhance the long-term sustainability of the neighborhoods of West Oakland and improve the quality of life for local residents. The partnership is part of a series of environmentally focused plans being promoted by the A's, including committing to LEED gold standard of design with the ballpark; a target of reducing car trips to the new ballpark by 20%; achieving net zero emissions; possibly building an electrically powered gondola that connects the ballpark to mass transit; and adding protections to the site in anticipation of future sea level rise caused by climate change. The A's are also working with the City of Oakland on a race and equity analysis to ensure the project produces community benefits for Oakland residents.[44]

Union Pacific, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, voiced concerns over the Howard Terminal as the ballpark's location in April 2019, due to issues of safety concerning the active train tracks on one side of the site. Maritime officials had also voiced concerns that bright lights from the stadium might interfere with the Inner Harbor's shipping traffic at night.[45] On May 11, 2019, the Alameda Labor Council, AFL-CIO, voted to support the Oakland A's efforts to build a new ballpark at Howard Terminal. The Council expressed strong support for the project given its potential to provide significant economic benefits for working families throughout the East Bay. According to a report issued by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, the privately financed ballpark project would create approximately 2,000 construction jobs and even more permanent jobs would be generated by the ongoing operation of the ballpark. In addition to the A's ballpark project at Howard Terminal, the Council also officially endorsed the A's redevelopment project at the Coliseum site, provided it also includes community benefits.[46]

As part of the ballpark plan, the Athletics have committed to redevelopment of the Coliseum site. Preliminary plans include parks, affordable housing, a skills center, and office and retail space. The Oakland Arena will continue to serve as a concert venue and as the home of the Oakland Panthers of the Indoor Football League.

In March 2018, the A's sent a letter to the City of Oakland proposing to purchase the entire Coliseum property including Oakland Arena and develop it into a new ballpark and ballpark village in exchange for paying off $135 million of debt owed on the property by the City of Oakland and Alameda County.[47] On April 23, 2019, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve the term sheet between the County and the Oakland Athletics providing for the possible purchase by the A's of the County's 50% interest in the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Complex for $85 million. On September 27, 2019, the Oakland City Council filed a lawsuit against Alameda County over the pending sale of the Coliseum site to the Athletics alleging that the sale violates the Surplus Land Act.[48] After intervention by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, city council backed off the lawsuit in exchange for negotiations between the city and the county to work out a “shared strategy” for the future of the Coliseum site outside of court.

On November 14, 2019, the Oakland City Council officially dropped its lawsuit against Alameda County.[49]

On May 13, 2019, the board commissioners of the Port of Oakland voted 7-0 to approve and authorize the Executive Director to execute the initial term sheet for a term of four years.[50] In October 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills intended to streamline the stadium process at the state level.[51]

Ballpark Digest in May 2020 reported that the Howard Terminal ballpark plan "may end up being delayed or even scrapped, as the COVID-19 pandemic and underlying economic uncertainty will certainly impact facility planning for the Athletics."[52] Just prior, the A's VP of communications had stated "the timeline may be adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic."[52][53] In July 2020, the East "Oakland Stadium Alliance" held a protest with "hundreds of cars" on the A's Opening Night to protest the Howard Terminal proposal and the Coliseum sale.[54]