City council's vote on new ballpark could determine whether A's stay in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. - On the eve of Tuesday's crucial city council vote, negotiations around the Oakland A's new ballpark continued.

The A's, Mayor Libby Schaaf, and other city officials spend Monday trying to iron out an agreement on the massive $12 billion waterfront stadium at Howard Terminal.

The team rejected the city's financial terms last week but, but vowed to resume talks.

If the seven-member city council approves the proposed ballpark on Tuesday, the project could move forward. But the A's said a "no" vote will send them packing and to another city.

"Based on the information I have, I am going to vote against the A's going to Howard Terminal," said City Councilman Noel Gallo.

Gallo said he's afraid the project would badly disrupt Oakland's vital port.

"I want to maintain the job opportunities that are being developed at the Port of Oakland," he said.

Port officials, environmental groups, and residents rallied at Howard Terminal Monday urging the council to strike down the proposed ballpark.

"This is one of the most toxic sites in the East Bay. And we have deep concerns about what kind of remediation that would take," said Igor Tregub of the Sierra Club of Alameda County.

"It's not a good deal. We gotta pay taxes on it," said Melody Davis, who once worked as a concessionaire at A's games at the Coliseum.

A's President Dave Kaval said he's encouraging the two sides to continue talks, but "unfortunately we still have significant gaps in our approach. And we are very close to the meeting."

A sticking point between the team and the city has been the A's proposal to create a second tax district for infrastructure, one that includes Jack London Square.

A spokesperson for Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement that "The city will continue to advocate for a proposal that supports and serves Oakland and our entire region, provides affordable housing, public parks, great jobs and other direct benefits for the community — all without risk to our port, our taxpayers, or the city or county’s general funds."

"We remain hopeful there will be a positive vote on our proposal or something that is a close derivative of that. But we are unsure what is going to happen," Kaval said.

Affordable housing, and who pays for it, are also part of the debate.

Oakland has already lost the Raiders and Warriors.