A’s co-Owner John Fisher today is slated to tour Oakland's Howard Terminal with local officials for a "deeper look at whether the waterfront property could be transformed into a ballpark," according to sources cited by David DeBolt of the EAST BAY TIMES. The tour signals "increased interest by the A's in the marine terminal near Jack London Square -- a location favored by [Oakland] Mayor Libby Schaaf but one that comes with its own logistical problems." The site is "attractive because of its waterfront location," but there are "transit, environmental and other questions that must be addressed." A ballpark there could require a "longer walk" for transit riders. The site visit also is a sign Fisher is "taking a bigger role" in finding a ballpark. A's co-Owner Lew Wolff, who has been the "face of the team's search, will not attend the tour." He has long been opposed to putting a new ballpark on the Howard Terminal site, instead favoring the current Coliseum location. Meanwhile, Wolff last week talked to Pro Football HOFer Ronnie Lott, who is "working behind the scenes on a new Coliseum stadium for the Raiders." But Wolff said, "He didn't give me too much detail on what he's trying to do" (EAST BAY TIMES, 8/25).
CHANGE OF ATTITUDE: CSNBAYAREA.com's Ray Ratto noted Schaaf "has achieved something just by getting" Fisher to take the tour. Fisher's reaction to the Howard Terminal site and Schaaf’s "powers of persuasion will determine much about how much hardball the A’s still want to play with a city that has never been keen to engage" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 8/24). The San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami said the fact that Fisher is taking a look at the site "tells me that this whole Lew Wolff PR line has just been that, it’s just been PR." Kawakami: "How many years have they wasted just sitting there waiting for someone else to make a decision?" He noted members of the Warriors' front office, who are "rich and smart, have always believed that the Howard Terminal site was very interesting" ("Sports Talk Live," CSN Bay Area, 8/25).
