The A's are "moving forward on a dream" to build a new ballpark at a proposed site near Laney College near downtown Oakland, but they may "first have to clear an environmental hurdle that has hovered over the land for years," according to David DeBolt of the EAST BAY TIMES. A review of county records shows that since '13, the Peralta community college district has "failed to act on the Alameda County Department of Environmental Health's calls to further study a historically toxic site on the proposed stadium land." The amount of hazardous materials in the ground is "unclear, because the site hasn't been tested" since '12, but the issue could become a "bargaining chip during anticipated land negotiations between the A's and the deficit-plagued, four-college district." A's President Dave Kaval said that the team is "prepared to pay for the costs," but the price tag "remains unclear." Any environmental cleanup costs would come "after a study of impacts." DeBolt noted the issue is "at least 25 years old." Kaval, who oversaw the building of Avaya Stadium in San Jose on land once used by a chemical manufacturing company, last week said "any remediation would be something we would take on if a ballpark was built there." Kaval: "It's important to understand maybe the ballpark can be a catalyst for some of these things to change in a positive way" (EASTBAYTIMES.com, 10/7).
SLOW & STEADY: In S.F., John Diaz wrote Kaval "knows exactly what not to do in pitching a new ballpark in Oakland." Hyperbole "just doesn’t play." Oakland has "been around the block, and knows the right questions to ask." The city "wants to be consulted and convinced, not seduced," and the A's "recognize that they need to go slow." The team is on a "slow-track timeline" for a ballpark opening in '23. The A's in selecting the Laney Collge site also "did not choose the path of least resistance, which would have been rebuilding on the Coliseum site." Instead, the team is "going for a site they believe will be quintessential Oakland." Kaval: "When it’s on TV -- boom -- you’re going to know you’re in Oakland right away. ... It’s a postcard or an advertisement for the city as well." But some local figures are "not so easily impressed." Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said, "I have not hidden from the fact that these are the very concerns that made this site not my first choice. ... But that doesn’t mean that these concerns can’t be addressed. And I strongly believe that the A’s deserve the audience." Diaz wrote it is "apparent that the A’s came prepared to play ... within Oakland’s rules," and "they're off to a smart start" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/7).
GET OFF MY LAWN! ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez noted Raiders coach Jack Del Rio is "no fan of sharing a field with a baseball team." Del Rio said, "It should be grass all the time. Hopefully, they'll get that rectified going forward because, frankly, it's a little embarrassing to play on the cinderblock. We'll tolerate it when we have to, but we're definitely looking forward to having a full field of grass." Gutierrez noted the Raiders have been the "lone NFL team to share a facility with a baseball team" since '12 (ESPN.com, 10/6).
