The path to a new stadium has been a long, difficult and heartbreaking road for the Oakland Athletics. With the guidance of Dave Kaval, though, the A’s have finally announced their preferred site for a new ballpark.
Dave Kaval and his “Rooted In Oakland” campaign is starting to look a little more legitimate, as the A’s announced their preferred site for a new ballpark on Wednesday.
Kaval, the A’s president, announced that the team has identified land near Laney College as the preferred site.
Kaval was brought in last year to help identify a new ballpark situation after years of failure by Lew Wolff. Wolff’s focus on San Jose was nice in theory, but took a toll on the fanbase. Fans wanted the A’s to remain in Oakland and Wolff demonstrated little interest in keeping the team in the city.
Oakland Athletics
Upon Kaval’s arrival, the A’s seemingly had a renewed sense of loyalty to the city of Oakland. The “Rooted In Oakland” campaign has captured the attention of fans throughout the city and the A’s have committed themselves to the city.
Oakland Was Always The Right Choice
With the Raiders and Warriors leaving town, the A’s will be the lone sports team in Oakland. So, the decision to keep the team in Oakland was always going to be the right choice.
Under Wolff, the A’s spent years and plenty of resources looking at options outside of Oakland. The team’s focus was always on San Jose and never on finding the best solution for the organization.
With the focus now placed on Oakland, the A’s will need to carry through with their plans to rebuild the franchise. Billy Beane knows very well that the team will need to open the ballpark with a strong core of young players.
The rebuild will demand plenty of focus and discipline. A new ballpark does not guarantee massive revenue and Beane’s rebuild project will need to go well in order for the A’s to have a successful transition into the future.
Negotiations Now Must Take Place
The news on Wednesday was exciting and did plenty to energize the fanbase. Despite the positive vibes, however, the A’s are not in the clear just yet. It is expected that Kaval and the A’s will spend the next year or so negotiating with the Peralta Community College District.
If negotiations are successful, the A’s could potentially start breaking ground in 2021. The plan would be to open a ballpark by the year 2023. That is the best case scenario for the A’s.
Should Kaval and the A’s face any setback or series of setbacks, however, the team’s plans could be derailed. There will almost certainly be some level of opposition to the A’s plans for a new stadium, especially from the College District.
The A’s will need to demonstrate the same level of focus they have been for the last year or so during their negotiations. The task ahead will be demanding and difficult at times, but Kaval seems up for the challenge.
If successful in his pursuit for a new ballpark, Kaval may go down as the man that saved baseball for the city of Oakland.