July 20, 2021
For Immediate Release
Contact: Duc Luu

Statement on Oakland City Council Ballpark Vote By Public Advocates Staff Attorney Ruby Acevedo:

The Oakland City Council voted today to approve a non-binding document setting negotiating terms known as a “term-sheet” and to continue good faith negotiations on the proposed waterfront ballpark stadium project. This decision came after John J. Fisher, the billionaire owner of the A’s, and Dave Kaval, the team’s president, created a political crisis and pressure campaign to get approval from the Council on their proposed project. This decision came down despite hundreds of online and in-person comments from the public pleading that the City not approve the term-sheet without strong community benefits and that the Council first complete the environmental review process.

While we commend Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan, President Nikki Fortunato Bas, and Councilmember Carroll Fife for championing the community voice in the process and for adding an amendment that will secure funding for anti-displacement renter services, we are concerned that the City’s term-sheet still falls short with regard to affordable housing. The term-sheet requires just 15% of new homes developed on the site to be affordable — what the law already requires. And even those so-called “affordable units” will be too expensive for low-income West Oakland residents. The City also agreed to assume the off-site infrastructure costs for the project. Advocates will continue to push the City to require that 35% of the units built on the site to be truly affordable to very low and extremely low-income households.

Despite this, the A’s have publicly stated that they do not approve of the term sheet and are still threatening to leave. If the A’s decide to leave, it will not be because the Council would not cooperate, it will be because of their own greed. Now it’s up to Mr. Fisher and Mr. Kaval to come back to the table to negotiate for true community benefits. The Council more than cooperated, in fact as Councilmember Fife put it, the Council “bent over backwards for the A’s.”

###

Public Advocates Inc. is a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing, transportation equity, and climate justice.