⏩ A’s ballpark: Key report released on proposed stadium.
Team is pushing for a City Council vote this year
Oakland released a key environmental document Friday for the A’s proposed baseball stadium at Howard Terminal in Jack London Square — a big step in the multiyear effort to build a 35,000seat waterfront ballpark, 3,000 units of housing, 1.5 million square feet of offices and 270,000 square feet of retail space.
The draft environmental impact report is the first analysis of the A’s proposed stadium and development plans, which would entail moving their operations from the Oakland Coliseum.
“We are really excited to get the draft out there … and to advance the project forward so it can be voted on by the City Council this year, which is really our key goal,” said Dave Kaval, the president of the A’s.
Over the years, city officials have aspired to transform Jack London Square into a major waterfront destination in the East Bay, a hub for transit, recreation, nightlife and food. The A’s stadium project could generate longterm growth and be a huge potential economic boost to Oakland. Though the team hasn’t threatened to leave, city leaders have worried that if the A’s don’t get their ballpark, they could depart in the wake of two sports teams that have already left.
“I’m excited about keeping our A’s rooted in Oakland,” Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement. “The Howard Terminal ballpark requires the highest environmental standards while giving us an opportunity to expand our entertainment district near Jack London Square, increase housing, provide good jobs, and keep our beloved waterfront working.”
But opponents have expressed concerns over transportation, environmental and
neighborhood impacts. Maritime tenants and dockworkers say the development could hurt the port’s shipping business.
“We know that Oakland’s working waterfront is no place for a stadium, office and luxury condominium complex,” said Mike Jacob, the vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, “and this environmental review must ultimately shine a bright light on the many significant adverse impacts of building the proposed stadium complex at this location.”
The document said the development would worsen traffic congestion on roadways and violate the city’s noise ordinance. Construction of the project could emit pollutants that exceed the city’s thresholds and pose health risks.
A 2019 Chronicle review of regulatory documents found that soil and groundwater at Howard Terminal contain hazardous and cancercausing chemicals that would need to be cleaned up before building. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control is overseeing cleanup on the site.
Margaret Gordon, the cofounder of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, said any project must be equitable and avoid environmental hazards for the West Oakland community.
“Benefits haven’t happened for this community for the last 50 years,” she said.
The project includes 50,000 square feet of indoor performance space, 8,900 parking spaces, up to 400 hotel rooms in one or more buildings, and 18.3 acres of open space, according to the document. Buildings could be as high as 600 feet.
The ballpark would be surrounded by pedestrian streets with limited vehicle access. Transit options include BART, AC Transit, ferry service and bus shuttles, and a transportation hub would have a raised pedestrian and bicycle crossing to the ballpark.
The document also studied the possibility of having a gondola above Washington Street, extending from downtown to Jack London Square.
Carl Chan, the president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, said he supports the project because it will create muchneeded jobs and housing. Chinatown would be heavily affected by gameday traffic, but that’s OK, Chan said, if patrons visit Chinatown businesses.
“If some of these businesses can benefit when people are coming through to go to the ballpark … then (that) traffic will be good,” Chan said.
Kaval said the project was initially expected to finish construction by 2023. But the pandemic and a lawsuit filed by opponents has delayed it.
Earlier this month, an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the A’s in a lawsuit that would have derailed the team’s plans to streamline the project.
A coalition of opponents that includes Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, Schnitzer Steel, the Harbor Trucking Association and the California Trucking Association has filed an appeal.
“Because there is still a lawsuit pending on this very question in state appellate court, we are very disappointed that the A’s and the City are moving forward with the release of this draft EIR prior to the final resolution of this critical issue,” Jacob said.
Friday’s report states the project would demolish all existing buildings and structures on the Howard Terminal site except the four existing shipping container cranes.
Construction of the first phase of the development will take at least two years and includes the ballpark, up to 540 units of housing, 250,000 square feet of office space, 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, hotels with up to
400 rooms, about 12.3 acres of open space, and just under 5,000 parking spaces. Construction of the entire development could take eight years.
The A’s are negotiating a development agreement with the city. The Oakland City Council still has to approve the project.
The A’s lease for the Coliseum, where they are part owners, ends in 2024.