{"id":8711782,"date":"2023-01-10T18:08:50","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T02:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8711782&preview=true&preview_id=8711782"},"modified":"2023-01-11T16:32:43","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T00:32:43","slug":"oakland-misses-out-on-major-grant-for-proposed-as-howard-terminal-ballpark-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/10\/oakland-misses-out-on-major-grant-for-proposed-as-howard-terminal-ballpark-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland misses out on major grant for proposed A\u2019s Howard Terminal ballpark project"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oakland\u2019s efforts to keep the A\u2019s in town took a major blow after the city was denied a federal grant that could have provided somewhere around one-third of the money needed to hold up its end<\/a> of the proposed Howard Terminal stadium project.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s largely unknown where exactly the negotiations stand between the city and its last major professional sports franchise, but the U.S. Transportation Department\u2019s decision not to include Oakland in its list of grant recipients makes a difficult project even harder. The city is anxious to craft a deal that does not rely on substantial subsidies from taxpayers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re looking under all the sofa cushions \u2013 federal money, state, county and city money, taxpayer money at all of those different levels,\u201d said Nola Agha, a University of San Francisco professor and expert on sports economics who has followed the project closely.<\/p>\n

City officials had sought the $182 million grant \u2013 a request to the federal MEGA program intended to help fund infrastructure projects around the country \u2013 to pay for street and transit improvements that would ultimately ease access to the team\u2019s proposed waterfront ballpark and massive housing development.<\/p>\n

But, according to a DOT document released Tuesday, the project details did not meet \u201cstatutory requirements\u201d to be a cost-effective choice for investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s unique about this is the MEGA grant, of course, was designed to be for infrastructure,\u201d Agha said. \u201cAnd the city very much perceives this to be an infrastructure project.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Former
Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf applauds during the inauguration ceremony for Oakland Mayor-Elect Sheng Thao, newly elected or re-elected members of the city council and Oakland school board at the Paramount Theater in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (Ray Chavez\/Bay Area News Group) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Agha authored a financial study last year of the Howard Terminal project \u2013 a report funded by local shipping industry businesses opposed to the A\u2019s development.<\/p>\n

While the city already has secured about $321.5 million in funding for the improvements, its most recent cost estimate \u2013 provided in response to Agha\u2019s findings \u2013 suggests the costs may total around $600 million.<\/p>\n

The MEGA grant would have put a sizable dent in that cost burden, and former Mayor Libby Schaaf was quick to cite it as fuel for optimism that the city could get a deal done with the A\u2019s, who have often taken a hardball approach to negotiations.<\/p>\n

Schaaf, who officially left office last week, was among the Howard Terminal project\u2019s most vocal and influential advocates. When MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said last fall he didn\u2019t expect the A\u2019s to stay in Oakland<\/a>, she was quick to jump into damage control.<\/p>\n

The A\u2019s have promised to pay for the roughly $1 billion ballpark, which would seat 35,000 fans. But the stadium project is contingent on the city funding the off-site infrastructure projects and eventually creating a tax district to cover the costs of building 3,000 housing units, hundreds of hotel rooms and commercial and retail space on the available port land.<\/p>\n

Major League Baseball, meanwhile, has encouraged the A\u2019s to look into relocating, and the franchise has long flirted with a move to Las Vegas. Team president Dave Kaval and other executives are scouting potential ballpark sites in Nevada, where their Triple-A team currently plays in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas.<\/p>\n