Environmental Justice Group To Work With Oakland A's On New Stadium Agreement
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- The Oakland Athletics are partnering with an environmental justice group to plan for the possibility of building a new stadium in West Oakland, team officials announced Friday.
In November, the A's unveiled an ambitious plan to build a new stadium at the Howard Terminal near Jack London Square.
On Friday the A's announced they would be working with the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project to solve any environmental and economic concerns.
Margaret Gordon, co-founder of the WOEIP, said she wants West Oakland residents to be first in line for jobs that the new stadium would generate.
And she's worried about air quality for people visiting the stadium, as the stadium would be near the Port of Oakland, which she believes causes air pollution in the area.
"This is not about demands, this is not about a rally. This is about problem solving," Gordon said in a phone interview Friday. "How can we overcome those impacts?"
Gordon said the first step is reaching out to other community groups for input.
"We want everyone to be able to make a decision for our plan," she said.
The A's and the WOEIP will come up with a community benefits agreement for the proposed ballpark and surrounding area, A's spokeswoman Catherine Aker said.
"We increasingly see that our ballpark project can be an essential catalyst to addressing longstanding environmental problems that have plagued West Oakland for far too long," A's President Dave Kaval said in a statement.
The city of Oakland is doing its own race and equity analysis in order to assure that the project is beneficial to Oakland residents.
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