Howard Terminal Ballpark was a scrapped baseball stadium to be built in the Jack London Square neighborhood of Oakland, California. If approved and constructed, it would have served as the new home stadium of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB), replacing the Oakland Coliseum. The 34,000-seat stadium was the last of several proposals to keep the Athletics in Oakland. The site is currently a parcel of land (previously used as a marine terminal for container cargo operations) owned by the Port of Oakland. After securing the site, the Athletics planned to have the stadium built and operational after the team's lease expired at the Oakland Coliseum in 2024.
Ballpark timeline
2001 – The Uptown site for a new ballpark is propose but rejected by then-Oakland mayor Jerry Brown. The City of Oakland suggests a site near the Oakland Estuary. 2005 – The 66th Avenue site is considered 2006 – Cisco Field plan is announced in Fremont 2009 – Fremont location is abandoned after public resistance. 2010 – City of Oakland proposes waterfront site near Jack London Square at Victory Court for a new ballpark 2011 – City tables the Victory Court site in favor of a proposed three-venue development at the Coliseum site titled Coliseum City 2012 – Cisco Field in San Jose is announced, the San Francisco Giants object due to territorial rights 2014 – The A's began talks with an architect to build a baseball-only stadium at the Coliseum site 2015 – The United States Supreme Court declines to hear a case seeking to enable a move to San Jose 2016 – The team reveals they will choose between the Port of Oakland, Coliseum site, and the Peralta area for a new stadium 2017 – The team chooses Peralta area of Oakland near Laney College, is rejected by college board and surrounding Chinatown neighbors 2018 – The team proposes to buy the Coliseum site outright in exchange for paying off the remaining $135 million debt owed by the City of Oakland and Alameda County 2018 – The team chooses Port of Oakland/Howard Terminal site and releases renderings 2020 – The timeline for Howard Terminal ballpark is reportedly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 – Major League Baseball, concerned with the slow progress on the Howard Terminal project, allows the A's to explore options outside of Oakland. As a result, non-binding agreements were made for the Howard Terminal ballpark project by the City of Oakland and Alameda County. 2022 – The Howard Terminal ballpark project's Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is certified by the City of Oakland. Subsequently, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) voted to remove Howard Terminal as port priority use 2023 — After the Athletics acquire a parcel of land for a new stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, with plans to move, the City of Oakland ceases negotiations with the Athletics over the stadium's development, ending the project.
Uptown Oakland and Oakland Estuary (2001) The first of the proposed new ballpark sites was a location in Uptown Oakland. In a 2001 study, Populous (formerly HOK Sport) had suggested this location as the prime site for a ballpark. However, plans to build a park there were dismissed by then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown due to the concern of the ballpark ruining the housing development of the neighborhood. Brown opted to sell the site to a condominium builder to whom he allegedly had ties. The City of Oakland also considered a site near the Oakland Estuary for a stadium. However, the A's showed no interest in the site due to lack of public transit access. Additionally, much of that land had already been sold to a condominium developer.
66th Avenue (2005) Then-Oakland Athletics owner Lewis Wolff presented his vision for the team's venue to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority on August 12, 2005. The ballpark he proposed would have been on 66th Avenue just north of the Coliseum. The stadium would have been built on what is currently zoned industrial land and would have included a Ballpark Village which would have included shops and either a hotel or apartment building in one of the outfield walls of the park.
Victory Court and Coliseum City (2010) On November 16, 2010, the City of Oakland proposed a waterfront site in the Jack London Square area for a new A's ballpark. The site, called Victory Court, was near the Lake Merritt Channel along the Oakland Estuary. The city conducted an environmental impact report for the Victory Court site and informed Major League Baseball of its decision. The city began accepting public comment on the ballpark EIR at the December 1 Planning Commission meeting held at Oakland City Hall. By the end of 2011, the city had tabled the Victory Court site in favor of a proposed three-venue development at the Coliseum site titled Coliseum City.
Cisco Field
Fremont (2006) In April 2006, Lewis Wolff took his Ballpark Village proposal to Fremont, a city 26.5 miles (42.65 km) southeast of Oakland, where a large parcel of land was available just north of Mission Boulevard and south of Auto Mall Parkway off Interstate 880 and across from Pacific Commons. The land was owned by the real estate firm Prologis and leased to Cisco Systems.Oakland A's sign Fremont land deal San Francisco Chronicle A formal press conference to announce the existence of Wolff's ballpark proposal of Cisco Field was held on November 14, 2006. The plan would be to build a 32,000 to 35,000 capacity stadium on the parcel of land in addition to adding housing and shops. Bud Selig, commissioner of Major League Baseball and John Chambers, the CEO of Cisco Systems along with Wolff were in attendance.
The proposal of the ballpark encountered problems such as construction delays, lack of public transportation, and Fremont residents voicing concerns of traffic congestion, noise, and pollution. As a result, this led to protests on February 5, 2009, at the street outside Weibel Elementary School at 6:30 p.m. holding up anti-A's signs and chanting “No Stadium”, then to Wolff officially ending the ballpark search in Fremont on February 24, 2009.
San Jose (2012) In 2012, it was proposed that Cisco Field be constructed in Downtown San Jose immediately adjacent to SAP Center and San Jose Diridon Station at the corner of Montgomery Street and Park Avenue. For the A's to have moved to San Jose, either the San Francisco Giants would have had to rescind their territorial rights on the area, or at least 23 of the 30 MLB owners would have had to vote in the A's favor and force San Francisco to give up their territorial claim to Santa Clara County. Lew Wolff stated, "My goal and desire for the organization is to determine a way to keep the team in Northern California." The Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Jose had been acquiring the properties needed at the Diridon South site. The available land, only , would have given rise to a very intimate stadium. As a result of its small size, it was speculated that it would have been very hitter-friendly.
The Giants repeatedly refused to cede their territorial rights to the San Jose area (which had been yielded by the A's in the early 1990s when the Giants had been in danger of moving to Tampa Bay; previously, the teams had shared the South Bay), although the team is open to sharing Oracle Park with the A's on a temporary basis if the A's have plans for a permanent stadium in the works.
In August 2012, Commissioner Bud Selig's Blue Ribbon committee, which had been implemented to study ballpark locations for the Athletics, met with both Oakland and San Jose officials. At the Oakland meeting, the committee was met with a proposal for a ballpark on the site of Howard Terminal, a container terminal on the Oakland waterfront near Jack London Square owned by the Port of Oakland. Wolff stated the site "has no ability to be implemented for a ballpark." Major League Baseball said it was their preferred location for a new ballpark in Oakland, and later formed a plan to develop the location.
On October 5, 2015, the United States Supreme Court rejected San Jose's bid on the Athletics.
Back to Oakland On June 25, 2014, the Athletics reached a 10-year lease agreement with the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Authority to stay at the Coliseum. Bud Selig commended both sides for reaching a deal on a lease extension, while offering, "I continue to believe that the Athletics need a new facility and am fully supportive of the club's view that the best site in Oakland is the Coliseum site." On July 16, 2014, the extension was officially approved.Goodell: Levi's might fit Raiders ESPN.com (July 18, 2014)
On August 6, 2014, the A's commenced talks with a possible architect to build a baseball-only stadium at the Coliseum site, according to Wolff. It was reported in early 2015 that the Raiders and team owner Mark Davis met with Wolff in an effort to create a stadium solution where two separate stadiums (one for the Raiders and one for the Athletics) would have been built on the Coliseum site. The Athletics balked at the deal.
Ownership change (2016) In 2016, Lewis Wolff resigned as the majority owner of the team. John J. Fisher then took over as majority owner. Fisher appointed Dave Kaval as team president and head of the stadium project. Around the same time, the Raiders announced their move to Las Vegas in 2020. Also, the Golden State Warriors moved to Chase Center in San Francisco in September 2019. This left the Athletics as the last major league professional sports team in Oakland. The team revealed three stadium location options: the current Coliseum site, the Peralta area near Laney College, and Howard Terminal at Jack London Square.
Peralta site (2017) After a comprehensive study of three proposed ballpark sites (Coliseum site, Howard Terminal, and Peralta Community College Headquarters District), the A's ownership determined that the best potential site to fit the needs of the A's and create the most community partnership opportunities and benefits was the Peralta site. The team announced that the Peralta site would be the preferred choice for the A's new ballpark on September 13, 2017. The area is located between Lake Merritt and I-880 where there are warehouses, parking lots and administrative offices for the Peralta Community College District.
Opposition to the project included members of the Peralta Federation of Teachers, select student and facility groups of neighboring Laney College and a local coalition of organizations led by the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN). After several months of preliminary discussions amongst the A's and the Peralta Community College's Office of the Chancellor Jowel Laguerre, Chancellor of Peralta Community College District, a statement was issued by the Chancellor indicating that he had been instructed to "discontinue planning" for the ballpark after a closed session meeting of the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees on the evening of December 5, 2017.
Ballpark at Howard Terminal proposal (2018–2023)
In November 2018, a plan for a "jewel box" design for the stadium at Howard Terminal met with a "tepid welcome," with the next version in February 2019 showing a "smoother and more circular stadium." At the time, the A's still had not acquired Howard Terminal.