In March, our vision to see a new waterfront ballpark built at Howard Terminal passed an exciting milestone. The project’s long-awaited and comprehensive draft environmental impact report was shared with the public, and we have received a tremendous amount of community feedback.
Now, along with the Oakland A’s, the city has several more important tasks to complete before a full proposal can reach the City Council for a final vote this year.
Over the next few months, Oaklanders and A’s fans are going to dig into the details of the project and engage in vigorous debates, just as we should.
Here’s why the waterfront ballpark is a once-in-a-generation project for Oakland and how I will work side-by-side with the A’s in the coming months to shape a clear vision and a historic project that will benefit both our community and the A’s organization.
First and foremost: I want the A’s to remain in Oakland forever. A prominent new home on the waterfront will help keep them here and keep their business a financially viable one well into the future.
Major League Baseball has an excellent track record for creating beautiful new ballparks that reinvigorate city centers and spawn new neighborhoods, from San Francisco to Baltimore; we want no less for Oakland.
A development at Howard Terminal would finally connect Oakland’s downtown to our waterfront and anchor the Jack London district. A new waterfront ballpark with beautiful public parks and gorgeous communal spaces for people to live and work will bring people past the freeway and create a world-class development while protecting our nearby world-class port.
My goals and values for this project are straightforward and shared by the A’s. We need to ensure that Howard Terminal is a good deal for the city and for the A’s. We need specific, tangible and — most important — equitable jobs, housing and other direct benefits for all of our residents.
And, most critically, we need to ensure that our taxpayers will be protected and not left on the hook, as they have been in the past.
I am confident this deal will come together. I am pleased with the commitment the A’s have shown to build a modern, privately financed ballpark and to privately finance the adjacent residential and commercial developments.
I support the city’s doing its part by using some of the new tax revenue generated by the project to help pay for new affordable housing, waterfront parks and the public infrastructure improvements that will bring fans to the game and Oaklanders to the waterfront.
I am committed to working with the A’s to establish a fund to support ongoing community benefits — not just one-time deals — for the life of the project. And, of course, our agreement with the A’s will have to include a binding promise from the A’s to remain in Oakland far, far into the future.
I look forward to the A’s joining the city of Oakland and deeply engaging with our community stakeholders in the coming months to finalize the package of community benefits and cement an ongoing partnership to make sure this project is a winner for Oakland and a winner for the A’s.
My shared goal with the A’s is clear: We want to get the project in front of the City Council for final approvals by the end of this year.
We are working hard to bring to Oakland a world-class ballpark and a new neighborhood that enhances our working waterfront, and we cannot wait to see this dream realized.
Together, we can get this deal done and keep our beloved A’s rooted in Oakland. This is our year.
Libby Schaaf is mayor of Oakland.
