Election scrambles game plan to keep A’s in Oakland

The November elections have scrambled Oakland’s game plan to keep its Major League Baseball team and the billion-dollar development projects surrounding the stadium.

Since the city and the A’s failed to meet the November deadline to bring a formal plan to the City Council, any possible deal is likely to wait until next year. But the election has brought some familiar and new faces together in the city government with different perspectives on what the deal should look like.

The grand plan for Howard Terminal would make it one of the largest developments ever in California, centered around the 35,000-seat ballpark that would host the A’s. The team, acting as the project’s developer, has promised to create a mixed-use neighborhood around the stadium. Plans include 3,000 residential units; 1.5 million square feet of office space; 270,000 square feet of mixed retail, cultural and civic space; a 3,500-seat performance theater; a 400-room hotel; and 18 acres of public open space.

The race for the open mayoral seat came down to two City Council members, with more progressive candidate Sheng Thao edging out her more moderate counterpart, Loren Taylor, after trailing as votes were counted.

Thao has not been as supportive as Taylor or outgoing mayor Libby Schaaf on trying to get a commitment from the A’s on a new stadium, and to proceed with the residential and commercial development that would accompany the venue. Thao has voiced her desire to get a deal done; however, she has stressed conditions that need to be met.

“I could get to a yes on this project — but yes only if,” Thao said in a statement.

The “ifs” on her list include ensuring the A’s meet the city’s affordable housing demands (15 percent on-site, 20 percent off-site) and taxpayer dollars won’t be used for future financing. Thao cited traffic mitigation, local business presence inside the ballpark and local hiring among important community benefits.

“If we can get all of the minimal requirements as part of the proposal, it would be great for the city to continue to have the A’s rooted here in Oakland,” Thao said. “It would be great for our economy as well. If we do it right, we can ensure people are actually eating and shopping and utilizing our small businesses when they are here.”

District 2 member and Council President Nikki Bas secured victory for another term and has consistently voted to progress with the Howard Terminal project. She wanted to keep the A’s in the city, however has signaled frustration with the team during negotiations.

“The A’s belong in Oakland,” she said in an interview for The Athletic. “This has been their hometown since 1968, 53 years. And so we do, as a city, want to continue to be the A’s hometown, and it takes two teams to play ball.”

The proposed development lies in Bas’ district in West Oakland and the three priorities she has are good jobs, affordable housing and environmental protections. She also wants the nearby port to remain active and a long term commitment from the A’s to stay.

“The A’s have to, in addition to the ballpark itself, be willing to invest in the community benefits and in the infrastructure,” Bas said.
A new face on the City Council will be Janani Ramachandran, who won the open District 4 seat. Ramachandran has publicly come out against the A’s moving to the Howard Terminal and doesn’t believe it will benefit the city.

“This is not a project about economic development, this is not about jobs for Oakland, this never has been,” Ramachandran said. “This is about billionaire interests and billionaire-owned sports teams.”

She would prefer to keep the port operating as it currently is. After touring Howard Terminal earlier this year, she said “we must fight to keep the A’s out of Howard Terminal and maintain Oakland’s thriving port industry, thousands of unionized jobs and well-being of longtime West Oakland residents.”

Finally, Kevin Jenkins beat out three challengers to secure the open seat in District 6. Jenkins has not made much public comment about the project and has remained neutral on the future of the development.

He has said he wants to avoid another Raiders situation and lose another sports team, but needs to see the A’s invested in the community.

“I want the A’s to stay,” Jenkins said. “But we have to look at the community benefits agreement, their investment in the city, and the onsite/offsite affordable housing. I look forward to seeing their plan.”

If the deal with Howard Terminal doesn’t work out, the most likely outcome would be the A’s looking to relocate to another city that can provide a new ballpark. The expectation was that Las Vegas would be plan B; however, those plans could be upended with the state being non-committal to providing public funds for the project.

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