Sheng Thao Doubles-Down On Oakland Howard Terminal Errors In MLB Commish Meeting - ATLNews

Sheng Thao Doubles-Down On Oakland Howard Terminal Errors In MLB Commish Meeting Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao doubles-down on the errors she made (and inherited from Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf), in her presentation to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on the Sunday before this week's MLB All Star Game. According to information posted on Twitter by ABC-7 Reporter Casey Pratt, Mayor Thao took a small group of Oakland Mayor's Office City Staffers (Chief of Staff Leigh Hanson, Communications Rep Pati Navaltaand) and Howard Terminal Project Manager Molly Maybrun to Seattle to meet with MLB Commissioner Manfred and Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem. During the meeting, the Oakland group gave Commissioner Manfred 30 copies of a document that Mayor Thao said shows the plan for Howard Terminal. Here's what the Mayor's Letter to the Commissioner said, in part (with the full document at this link: ): OAKLAND ATHLETICS & CITY OF OAKLAND MLB STADIUM DEVELOPMENT PRESENTATION OF TERMS MAYOR SHENG THAO 51ST MAYOR OF THE CITY OF OAKLAND JULY 9, 2023 THE HONORABLE SHENG THAO • MAYOR OF OAKLAND July 9, 2023 Dear Commissioner Manfred, I want to begin by expressing my sincerest appreciation for your willingness to meet with me in person to discuss next steps in the relationship between the City of Oakland, Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Oakland Athletics (A’s). Although it is my understanding that the A’s and MLB are currently focused on relocating the team from its longtime Oakland home to Las Vegas, I thought it best to reach out to you directly to share my perspective on where things stand in Oakland. As MLB and the relocation committee approach the very consequential vote that will determine the future of the A’s in Oakland, I wanted to personally ensure that we have an open line of communication and that you have direct access to all of the relevant information that you will need to make an informed decision. Based on your recent comments, I fear that there may be certain misperceptions about the status of the A’s proposed project at Howard Terminal. By way of this letter and its attachments, I want to make it clear to you, MLB, the relocation committee, and the owners of the other 29 teams that Oakland very much had a specific and concrete proposal on the table, we had a detailed and mutually agreed upon plan and schedule, and after two years of negotiations, we were, I believe, extremely close to finalizing a deal with the current ownership of the A’s. First, there most certainly is a site for a stadium in Oakland – and detailed plans for that site. At Howard Terminal, the A’s proposed a total of approximately six million square feet of new development on approximately 55 acres of public land located on Oakland’s waterfront, with sweeping views of the San Francisco skyline. In addition to a privately-owned and operated ballpark with capacity for 35,000 fans, the A’s proposed project would including 3,000 residential units and more than 1.5 million square feet of commercial space. Plans for this new “Waterfront Ballpark District” were developed by the A’s and their design team over several years and submitted to the City for review. In fact, the plans have gone through multiple rounds of review (as is typical for any large development project) and are ready to proceed to public hearings. The City maintains a robust webpage for the Project, where the A’s most recent plan submittals are available to you and the public on an ongoing basis. For your convenience, the plans are also attached for your review. Second, it is not an accurate statement that there was no offer from Oakland. Oakland has made the A’s multiple offers over the last several years, at both the Coliseum and Howard Terminal. All have been rejected, despite the fact that Oakland’s current offer includes more money for both onsite and offsite infrastructure than the A’s themselves requested. Mayor Thao Is Just Re-Presenting What The City of Oakland Has Done And Nothing New The sad fact is that Mayor Thao, by taking her female Chief of Staff and female Communications Rep, to join female Molly Maybrun, (rather than inviting her African American male City Administrator Jenkins and Economic Development Director Sofia Navarro) and in a stylish document. That maks the fact that there's no development agreement or tax increment financing zone created and approved. It's all just a show. Stay tuned.
via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgV0rlXj7mk