Then there was the waterfront ballpark, which ownership has seemingly never been fond of while the city of Oakland has pushed for it.
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The Oakland Athletics may be taking a new look at an “old” site – the Howard Terminal.
Located on the estuary separating Oakland and Alameda, Howard Terminal has always been a proposed fit for the A’s and is a favored landing spot of mayor Libby Schaaf. A’s co-owner John Fisher (and possibly co-owner Lew Wolff’s son and stadium point man Keith) will reportedly tour the Howard Terminal site today along with Port of Oakland officials to see if it can be made to work for a new A’s stadium.
A high-profile visit to a proposed site for a waterfront ballpark for the Oakland A’s is giving new hope for fans of both the A’s and the Raiders that their teams will stay in town.
“He didn’t give me too much detail on what he’s trying to do”, Wolff said from Los Angeles.
The challenge is the lack of public transit and the amount of money needed to clean up the site. That deal had territorial rights shoot it down, with the San Francisco Giants claiming nearby San Jose as parts of its reach.
Sources say Fisher brought along his own engineers to evaluate the site and the potential costs.
Of course there was also the option to build on the current site, either in the parking lot of the current location or on the site of Oracle Arena, where the Golden State Warriors play, when (if) they move. The Coliseum site remains the best solution for the Raiders and the A’s in Oakland, he said.
“If this comes to fruition, we’ve been talking about it, it would definitely be a game changer”, said Chris Dobbins, co-founder of the group Save Oakland Sports. Given the history of this ownership group dragging its feet on the stadium situation, it’s unlikely that Thursday’s venture will provide good news, but there’s a first time for everything. The team this week filed a trademark application for the name “Las Vegas Raiders”.
Thursday’s tour is also a sign Fisher is taking a bigger role in finding a stadium.
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“It’s a kick in the face for Oakland Raiders fans”, said Dobbins. “It isn’t just a little get together to chat about the feasibility”.
