A’s president says council-approved stadium plan still doesn’t work for team

Oakland city councilmembers voted Tuesday on a non-binding financial plan for a new waterfront stadium for the Oakland A’s, but the team said it was a swing and a miss.

A’s president Dave Kaval said while progress has been made in negotiations, the plan the City Council voted on Tuesday afternoon is something that doesn’t work for his team.

The council voted to adopt a plan and amendments by the city for a stadium at Howard Terminal off Market Street in Oakland that “is not a business partnership that works for us,” Kaval said.

Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan said the City Council’s amendments addressed the A’s biggest concern, which was having to pay for offsite transportation infrastructure improvements. However, the A’s still could not agree with the city’s overall offer.

About 1,000 people watched the meeting virtually and about 100 commented publicly before the vote. Six councilmembers voted “aye” for the city’s proposal while Councilmember Noel Gallo, who wore a “Rooted in Oakland” shirt during the meeting, voted “no” and Councilmember Carroll Fife abstained.