Oakland Councilman Noel Gallo Tosses A's Another Curveball; Ballpark In Alameda
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- After casting the lone no vote on the term sheet for the much-debated Howard Terminal Stadium project, City Councilman Noel Gallo says he still wants to keep the Athletics in Oakland and even offered up an alternative site Wednesday in neighboring Alameda.
Gallo said in a interview on KPIX Morning News, his desire was to keep the A's playing at a renovated Oakland Coliseum, but if that didn't work there was an alternative.
"I've said it personally to the ownership of the A's that I will do everything to keep the A's in Oakland as an investment at the Coliseum and certainly we have another property that became available -- the old Raiders training headquarters in Alameda," he said. "Beautiful site, attractive, 5 minutes from the airport. And certainly we can incorporate that in our negotiations to keep the A's in Oakland."
But first, Gallo said, there must be a strong indication that the A's want to stay.
"We got to get down to the point -- Do you want to stay in Oakland? Are your rooted in Oakland? Are you committed in Oakland?" he said. "If you are, why are you out there negotiating with many other cities that you want to relocated to?"
A's team officials -- including a stadium architect -- in Las Vegas Wednesday to discuss relocation and scout sites for a new stadium.
On Tuesday, the City Council voted 6-1 in favor of an amended term sheet for the Howard Terminal Stadium project, but the Oakland Athletics said the plan simply doesn't work for them.
The vote came after hours of heated debate as pro-stadium union leaders squared off against housing advocates and Chinatown community leaders.
While the vote doesn't guarantee the ballpark will be built, it does approves a continuation of negotiations between the the team and Oakland city officials.
Athletics Team President Dave Kaval -- who had previously said that the term sheet provided by Oakland was unacceptable to the team -- stated that the A's remain at an impasse with city officials after the vote.
"The grand slam homerun would have been voting for our proposal but there was a yes vote so we need to analyze what it means and how it impacts the club and the future of the project," said Kaval.
Council members amended the term sheet so that the developer and franchise would not be responsible for off-site transportation infrastructure cost projected at $352 million.
"This is not a term sheet that works for A's; it is not the basis for our proposal that we agree with," said Kaval at the meeting. "It is not beneficial to vote for something we don't agree with."
Major League Baseball has already given the team a greenlight to exit from the San Francisco Bay Area with Las Vegas among the cities actively pursuing the team.
On Tuesday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred voiced further frustration over the process.
"We are disappointed the City Council chose to vote on a proposal to which the A's had not agreed," he said. "We will immediately begin conversations with the A's to chart a path forward for the Club."
