The A's hope is to have a new waterfront ballpark ready for the '23 MLB seasonATHLETICS
A's President Dave Kaval said that he is "hopeful" the team will receive the go-ahead for their targeted Howard Terminal site "as soon as this summer," according to Susan Slusser of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Kaval said of the A's '23 goal for a new facility, "We have a mid-year window, which keeps us on track for the timing." He also said that "any lawsuits could potentially delay things, but the proceedings could not take longer than 270 days." Kaval: "There's still the ability to hit the timeline we've identified. That's still the plan." Slusser noted the A's "started a program for recent arrivals to the East Bay this month, sending flyers to 10,000 new residents offering two free tickets to a home game at the Coliseum this season -- and they'll do so again in March." Kaval said of the program, which he thought of with VP/Communications Catherine Aker, "We just started it to really take advantage of the fact that a lot of people are moving to Oakland, particularly to areas around the ballpark. Let's give them a free sample of the experience at the ballpark with a welcome package" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/26).
WALK THE WALK: In S.F., Phil Matier notes for "all of the talk" of being able to walk to the A's proposed waterfront ballpark, more than half the fans would "drive or take Lyft or Uber to sold-out games, adding an estimated 10,000 cars to the already congested area." A study from the Oakland DOT estimates that 50% of the attendees at a sold-out game -- roughly 17,500 fans -- would drive 7,500 vehicles to the area and "search for parking between downtown Oakland and Howard Terminal, where the stadium would be located." The "highly touted overhead gondola to ferry fans from downtown to the ballpark that has been suggested by the A's was labeled as a possible transit option in the report and wasn't counted as part of the traffic study" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/27).
