Oakland ballot measure could help push A’s to Las Vegas

Oakland City Council member Carroll Fife hosted a town hall meeting Saturday on the proposed development at the Port of Oakland’s Howard Terminal. Several Oakland residents gave their opinions on the project, with the majority in opposition to the $12 billion mixed-use project centered on a $1 billion waterfront ballpark.

At the end of the meeting, Fife said she’s not in favor of how the process is playing out with the city council and is considering sponsoring a ballot measure to let area voters decide if they want the project, which A’s officials said caught them by surprise.

“How I feel that these things are moving forward does not include as much of this (public input) as is necessary,” Fife said. “Because when money is involved and billionaires are involved, they tend to make the decisions on how things play out in our society.”

Without knowing details of a potential ballot measure, Athletics’ President Dave Kaval said that such efforts aren’t usually good news for large-scale projects.

“Often these types of efforts are undertaken to get in the way of a project approval,” Kaval told the Review-Journal on Monday. “This is often a way for opponents of projects to kill them. Those are our concerns and that’s why we are continuing to encourage the city council to take the vote themselves this summer.”

‘Wise and prudent’ choice

Fife said she wants to counter the current course of action with the city council leading the charge, even though it makes her a target of those who support the project.

“I get marginalized with that perspective,” Fife said. “I think it is wise and prudent for the voters of Oakland to make the decision. I don’t know how other people feel about that.”

Fife polled those in attendance Saturday about whether voters should decide on the project and there was a resounding “yes” heard from attendees.

The few in attendance that opposed a vote said they were worried that either the A’s would control the narrative ahead of a potential vote, swaying residents’ opinions, or that they believed the city council members were the ones who should vote on the project.

Fife could not be reached for comment Monday; she is slated to address the media Tuesday afternoon regarding the Howard Terminal project.

The A’s were caught off guard by Fife’s suggestion for a public vote on the project, according to Kaval. He noted that the team has been working closely with the city over the last several years, with the understanding that the council members would decide the project’s fate.

“That was the agreement we had with the elected leaders,” Kaval said. “For this to change at the last moment is kind of like moving the goalposts. That’s quite concerning and it brings a lot of additional uncertainty to the project in Oakland.”

Vegas search continues

As this occurs, the A’s have also been exploring possible relocation to Las Vegas. After several trips to Southern Nevada since last May, the A’s have put in offers on five sites in or near the resort corridor. The team hopes to announce by this summer a final site where it could potentially build a $1 billion, up to 35,000-seat, retractable-roof ballpark.

The A’s have a lease at RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland through 2024 and MLB officials, who gave the Athletics the green light for their relocation search, have made it clear the team needs to have a new ballpark plan in motion by that time.

Whether this latest twist in the Bay Area gives Las Vegas the upper hand in trying to lure the A’s to Southern Nevada remains to be seen. But Kaval said team officials plan to be back in Las Vegas soon and hope to be more public this time around.

“It’s (the possible vote) very concerning,” Kaval said. “It makes you wonder if they (Oakland officials) are going to keep changing the goalposts as we get close and closer to the project.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.