SAN FRANCISCO – A California agency on Thursday cleared the way for Auckland Athletics to continue planning a 12 billion waterfront ballpark project.
The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission voted 23 to 2 to reclassify the 56-acre terminal in Auckland Harbor as a mixed-use area where a new ballpark could be built. This vote is the first in a series of legal hurdles that the team must cross before the project can be approved.
The commission complied with the recommendations of its staff, as the team demonstrated the removal of terminal ports from use, “not to detract from the area’s ability to handle the projected increase in cargo.”
Athletics is also working on plans to relocate to Nevada and find space for a new stadium in Las Vegas.
Last year, Auckland City Council approved the initial terms for the project, but A’s chairman, Dave Caval, said the financial terms did not work for the team. Kaval said the team was going “on a parallel path” planning new ballparks in Auckland and Las Vegas.
A’s proposal includes a निधी 1 billion privately funded 35,000-seat waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal, which is currently being used as overflow parking for containers and trucks. The project will also include 3,000 residential units, office and retail space, hotel rooms and an indoor performance center.
The lease of the team at the aging RingCentral Coliseum lasts until 2024. The league has said that rebuilding in its current location is not a viable option. In May, Major League Baseball instructed the Auckland Brass to look for transfer options if they could not reach a ballpark agreement.
After the NBA’s Golden State Warriors moved to San Francisco and the NFL’s Riders to Las Vegas in recent years, this is the last commercial franchise to stay in Auckland. The secession is weighing heavily on the Bay Area city, which has a population of about 400,000, some of whom on Thursday urged the council to work hard to keep the team and the accompanying coliseum jobs.