There has been a lot of talk surrounding a new Oakland A’s stadium. Whether its a proposed site by the water or moving down to San Jose, the rumors continue to flow as plans for a new stadium evolve. Most recently, the Coliseum City Group added a major investor to their team while the Oakland A’s and the City of San Jose extended their agreement to work toward a ballpark in Silicon Valley.
Coliseum City Group’s proposed plan
The Coliseum City Group has been trying to get their project – the Coliseum City – off the ground for two years now. On Tuesday, the Oakland City Council decided to extended their exclusive negotiating agreement with the Coliseum City Group after they added investor Floyd Kephart to their team. Kephart, who is based in San Diego, is the chairman of the board for a private financial and real estate advisory firm – The Renaissance Cos. City Council agreed to extend their agreement for three more months.
Even though this extension is a win for the Coliseum City Group, it may not help the Oakland A’s in the search for a new ballpark. The Coliseum City project calls for at least one new sports stadium at a new “Coliseum complex” that includes retail stores, housing, and hotels. This one new sports stadium is primarily for the Oakland Raiders. Even though the plans depict both a football stadium and a baseball stadium, if only one can be chosen, it would be the football stadium.
Additionally, Oakland A’s owner Lew Wolff has not been involved in the Coliseum City Group’s planning where as it has been rumored that Raiders co-owners Daniel Leff and Dan Goldring have connections to a hedge fund based in New York who could help fund the project. This could further skew the Coliseum City to be a football only complex. With the Coliseum City Group’s agreement with City Council extended for three more months, it will be interesting to see if they can get this project off the ground.
[Oakland A's: Who will be the 2015 starter in left field?]
Then we have the Oakland A’s extending their negotiation agreement with the City of San Jose in hopes that a new stadium could be built in the South Bay. Wolff has stated that he does not want the team to be a tenant of anyone else and a new stadium in San Jose would be the answer for that. The Oakland A’s are definitely keeping their options open.
Even though the Oakland A’s signed a 10-year lease deal with the O.co Coliseum just a few months ago, there is an opt-out if the Athletics are approved to move to San Jose. There is also an opt-out of their lease if a project is approved to build a new football stadium for the Oakland Raiders. With so many different plans and options, it could be possible for the A’s to have a new ballpark within this decade.
For now, the Oakland A’s are just waiting for the right opportunity. Unlike the Raiders, it seems as though the Athletics are determined to stay somewhere in the Bay Area and there have not been any considerations to move the team to another city. However, it could be a few more years until any type of plan for a new ballpark is finalized and put into action.
For more news, rumors, and opinions on the Athletics, visit the isportsweb Oakland A’s homepage.
This article Oakland A’s: The hope for a new ballpark remains alive appeared first on isportsweb by Sam Riley