After 11 hours of debate, it was decided that voters will not get a say in the Oakland Athletics’ plans for a new stadium at the Howard Terminal – at least not right now.
The Oakland City Council voted five to one on Councilman Noel Gallo’s proposed ballot measure for November. The vote came in late Tuesday night.
Said measure would’ve asked voters if the city should invest nearly a billion dollars to build a new ballpark for the Oakland A’s at the Howard Terminal.
Councilman Gallo, who thinks the A’s should rebuild at the current coliseum site, suggested the measure to gauge public opinion of the proposed Howard Terminal site and perhaps put an end to it.
The East Oakland Stadium Alliance, which is suing to stop the Howard Terminal project, argues that the city would be subsidizing the billionaire owner of the A’s.
On the other hand, the team and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf are against the ballot measure and say it will delay the project and jeopardize the team staying in the city.
In a statement released overnight, Mayor Schaaf said in part:
“A non-binding advisory measure would have jeopardized keeping the A’s in Oakland, cost taxpayers as much as a million dollars, and done nothing but provide special interests with opportunities to spread misinformation. The Oakland City Council has provided clear direction in our negotiations with the A’s: Oakland taxpayers will be protected from the costs of the ballpark and associated development. We have learned the mistakes of the past and we won’t repeat them.”
Source: NBC Bay Area
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