The Oakland A’s celebrated Opening Day with victories on the field and in the courthouse.
On Thursday, the Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 to start the season.
Meanwhile, a California appeals court panel upheld an Alameda County Superior Court judge’s decision that the A’s and the city of Oakland weren’t violating environmental standards under the California Environmental Quality Act with their plans to build a new $12 billion stadium district on the Howard Terminal waterfront.
Last April, a coalition including truckers, port workers, and cargo operators sued the team and city over the supposed environmental violations.
In the fall, Alameda Superior Court judge Ronald Seligman ruled that the A’s weren’t in the wrong, rejecting claims that a new waterfront stadium would cause aquatic traffic on the grounds that the nearest water would be 700 feet from the park — further than any player has ever hit a home run.
The question now is whether the A’s will continue with plans to build a $1 billion, privately financed ballpark in Oakland — or depart for Las Vegas, as heavily rumored.
If the Oakland plans do indeed move forward, a new ballpark can’t come soon enough: A fan survey taken ahead of Opening Day ranked Oakland Coliseum the worst MLB park in the country.
