Oakland A’s Secure Key Vote for Waterfront Stadium Project

The A’s may stay in Oakland after all.

The team’s proposed $12 billion development proposal cleared a key vote Thursday, allowing the project to move forward.

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission voted 23 to 2 to remove Howard Terminal’s “port use” designation, clearing the path for a potential ballpark project. Commission staff provided a key lift for the project, recommending prior to the vote that the port designation be removed.

• The stadium project is far from a done deal — the team must still strike a deal with the city of Oakland.
• Housing remains a sticking point in negotiations with the city. 
• The project calls for park land, a 400-room hotel, 270,000 square feet of retail space, and 3,000 housing units. The city is calling for 15% of those housing units to be affordable, or above city requirements of 7% to 12%.

Oakland A’s president Dave Kaval called the vote “a huge win for our waterfront ballpark project and the future of Oakland and the A’s.”

There’s Always Vegas

A move to the Las Vegas area remains an option for the team. A’s executives have pursued the Oakland project and a new development in southern Nevada on parallel tracks. The team had narrowed down its Las Vegas options to two sites.

The main hurdle toward a move there may be securing public financing, which could be politically contentious for Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.

MLB would reportedly waive relocation fees associated with the move, which could run up to $1 billion.