A’s appear to favor Peralta site for stadium
The A’s search for a new home in Oakland has narrowed to three locations, but the team appears to have strong interest in a 13-acre site near downtown that is now the headquarters of the Peralta Community College District.
The site is just west of Laney College and abuts Interstate 880. Despite its proximity to the Nasty Nimitz, it has the neighborhood feel the A’s are looking for — something the team’s current home, the Coliseum, doesn’t even come close to.
Crucially, in addition to its freeway access, the Peralta site is within easy walking distance of the Lake Merritt BART Station. And any stadium built there would have spectacular views of Lake Merritt and the East Bay hills from the upper deck. But there are challenges. For one, Peralta Chancellor Jowel Laguerre says Laney’s faculty and students would probably put up a fight.
“I’m afraid of the aggravation we may create for ourselves and then nothing happens,” Laguerre said. “I am personally praying for one of the other sites to work out.”
Another challenge: Mayor Libby Schaaf, whose support
is vital, likes a different site. She’s pushing for the team to relocate to Howard Terminal, north of Jack London Square.
The Coliseum site is also in the running for a new ballpark — but right now, it’s everyone’s second choice at best.
Schaaf sees building a 40,000-seat ballpark on the waterfront near Jack London Square as an opportunity to create a new neighborhood in the largely industrial area. And like Laguerre, she thinks the political battle over building a stadium next to Laney — where year-round enrollment totals about 9,000 students — could be fierce.
But the A’s see several downsides to Howard Terminal. There’s no BART station nearby, and auto access is impaired by the railroad tracks that run near the property. It also sits next to a power plant that would have to be moved.
Plus, building on the waterfront would require approval from various state agencies. The prospect of running that gantlet was enough to persuade the Golden State Warriors to abandon their plan for an arena on San Francisco’s Piers 30-32 and build in Mission Bay instead. Then there’s the weather. The team’s analysis shows that Howard Terminal is about as cold and windy as where Candlestick Park used to be. Ask the Giants and their fans how that worked out.
The Peralta site is considerably warmer, the analysis shows — comparable to the Coliseum.
And there’s another plus to the Peralta site: A ballpark next to the freeway could mean millions of dollars in extra revenue from signage, including from whatever company buys the stadium naming rights.
A recent team-commissioned poll of 800 Oakland voters found that 72 percent supported the idea of a privately financed ballpark “within walking distance of downtown.” The Peralta site qualifies, though Howard Terminal supporters would say it does as well.
The A’s hope to buy some support from the Laney College community by suggesting that ballpark revenue would help pay for badly needed building improvements at the school. Laguerre is skeptical, but he said he and other Peralta officials will “listen to their thoughts and ideas.”
Julina Bonilla, president of the Peralta Board of Trustees, sounded a slightly more conciliatory note, saying the district wants the A’s to stay in Oakland and will do what it can to “support that and make that happen.”
As for Schaaf, she said, “I want to be respectful of the A’s because they are planning to privately finance their ballpark, and I think everyone knows my feelings about that.”
But she added, “No matter what site they choose, I am always going to be concerned that their project benefits the surrounding community and doesn’t cause harm and displacement.”
Officially, the A’s say they are weighing the Howard Terminal and Peralta sites equally, as well as building at the Coliseum site — which, while the least sexy of the locations, has great transportation access.
A’s President David Kaval said all three sites “are neckand-neck” and that wherever the team tries to build, it will need everyone “pulling in the same direction.”
Translation: As promising as the Peralta site looks on paper, the A’s front office is keenly aware that it will have to overcome some real political headwinds to succeed there.
One big sign the A’s have their eyes on downtown: They’re about to move their front office out of the Coliseum and into Jack London Square. In the box: Oakland officials showed no interest in taking up the Warriors offer to buy the City Council luxury box at Oracle Arena during the playoffs, and now we know at least one reason why.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said the pair of tickets she gave away to be auctioned off for last week’s championship finale netted $35,000 for Oakland’s Emerging 100 initiative for new “underrepresented” entrepreneurs.
A real bargain considering ESPN reported that someone had paid a record-breaking $133,000, including fees, for a pair of floor seats to the game.
San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross