In recent comments, Oakland A’s president Dave Kaval said that the club is now back to considering three sites for a new ballpark in Oakland.
Last September, the A’s announced that land near Laney College had been chosen as the preferred site for their proposed new ballpark. That announcement came after the club considered that location among several other options, including Howard Terminal and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum site. By the end of 2017, however, efforts to construct the ballpark near Laney College hit a major roadblock after discussions with the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees collapsed.
Now, it is back to the drawing board for the A’s, who will once again sort through their options in Oakland. Along with including Howard Terminal and the Coliseum in the mix, Kaval says that the A’s will continue to consider the site near Laney College. More from The San Francisco Chronicle:
After providing a media tour of the A’s day-old offices in Jack London Square on Tuesday, team President Dave Kaval addressed stadium issues for the first time since their plans went haywire, saying that all three sites initially considered — Howard Terminal, the Coliseum and the recently squelched Laney College site — are back on the table.
“We’re 100 percent focused on Oakland and the best location that marries the community as well the A’s needs, and we’ve identified three final locations,” Kaval said. “We had a preferred location, a lot of thought went into that, and we just want to make sure before we make another announcement that we’re very thoughtful about how we approach it.”
The A’s gave themselves a year to pick a site and named a spot near Laney College in September. But last month, the Peralta Community College District Board shot down those plans by abruptly ending talks.
“We spent a lot of time getting it to three final sites, and those are the sites that are viable,” Kaval said. “I would say it would be unlikely there would be another site. … We want to find a location and make it our home for the next 50 to 100 years.”
In December, the Laney College proposal hit a roadblock when the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees ordered chancellor Jowel Laguerre to discontinue discussions concerning a new A’s ballpark. The ballpark was pitched for a 15-acre site next to Laney College on land used by the Peralta Community College District, but some residents in the area as well as various organizations representing students, staff, and faculty at Laney College expressed opposition to the plan.
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