OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and other city leaders addressed the Howard Terminal agreement on Wednesday morning.
This comes after the city voted on a preliminary, non-binding financial plan for a new waterfront stadium for the Oakland A’s – which the team is not too happy with.
The A’s don’t believe the plan works for them, said team president Dave Kaval.
Six councilmembers voted Tuesday in support of a ballpark at Howard Terminal off Market Street in Oakland to keep the team in the city. The A’s has been viewing prospective sites out of state for a new home base at the direction of the MLB.
“The primary sticking point” in the agreement is around a community benefits fund to be spent on things other than affordable housing, Mayor Schaaf said during the Wednesday press conference. “The city is going to stand firm on community benefits.”
Watch part of the press conference below:
The agreement included a commitment to build 450 affordable housing units out of 3,000 proposed housing units, according to Schaaf. She said they have reason to believe the A’s are fine with that particular part of the agreement.
When the vote came in on Tuesday, Kaval said the agreement “is not a business partnership that works for us.” However, he added that the vote keeps them on the negotiation table.
Schaaf added that the city believes the A’s want to stay rooted in Oakland. “We are absolutely ready the second the A’s are.”
She said they will not repeat the mistakes of the nightmare NFL Raiders deal, who ultimately relocated to Las Vegas.