Cargo Business Newswire

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Port of Oakland staff paves the way for new Oakland A's ballpark at Howard Terminal

On Friday, staff at the Port of Oakland released their recommendation that the port enter negotiations to build a waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal for the Oakland A's. The Oakland Port Commission will consider the recommendation at its March 27 meeting.

Under the port staff proposal, the agency would sign an exclusive agreement with Oakland Waterfront Ballpark, LLC, a group of city businessmen led by Clorox CEO Don Knauss, T. Gary Rogers of Dreyer's Ice Cream, and Michael Gheilmetti Signature Development Group, which is building a massive housing development near the proposed ballpark's location. Other OWB members include former Oakland planning commissioner Doug Boxer and San Francisco developer Seth Hamalian.

OWB reportedly sent a letter to port Executive Director Christopher Lytle in January, asking that the port enter into negotiations to build a 38,000-seat ballpark at Howard Terminal. The port could not agree to do so until the port commission had ruled out maritime uses for the site, which they did late last month when they declined a deal to ship coal through the terminal.

Under the staff's recommendation, OWB would make a down payment of $100,000 to the port for up to a year of exclusive negotiations. During that time, the port and OWB would begin to study the feasibility and costs of building a ballpark on the fifty-acre site.

Although A's co-owner Lew Wolff has said he does not believe Howard Terminal is a viable ballpark location, OWB thinks it is.

For more of the East Bay Express story: eastbayexpress.com