A’s president: ‘We’re still on track’ to open new stadium in 2023

Despite numerous setbacks in the past 12 months, Oakland Athletics president Dave Kaval is confident his team’s quest for a new home remains on schedule.

Last year, the A’s announced plans to build a privately-financed stadium at their preferred site near Laney College. That appeared to put an end to the franchise’s longtime search for a new home to replace the aging Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, until the college shocked the team by voting against the proposal.

Although there haven’t been a ton of updates on progress since then, Kaval told Forbes’ Barry M. Bloom on Tuesday that all signs are still pointing toward a new ballpark in the East Bay by their targeted date.

“We’re working to determine an economic deal with the key players by then on the site that works best for the community and the team, so we can get to an opening by 2023,” he said. “We’re still on track for that.”

Kaval added that he expects an official decision on the team’s new first choice for a home – more than likely the Howard Terminal site in downtown Oakland – to come by year’s end.

Since abandoning a potential move to other Bay Area locations such as San Jose or Fremont, several sites in Oakland besides Laney College have been proposed. The Coliseum site itself is still being evaluated as an option, Kaval said, but Howard Terminal – located just 6.5 miles to the north – appears to have emerged as the new favorite.

In January, the A’s moved their offices from the Coliseum to downtown Oakland, mere blocks from Howard Terminal. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred was recently given a tour of the Howard site that was led by Kaval, and Manfred said last month that he was impressed.

“We had a great time,” Kaval said of Manfred’s visit.

The 52-year-old Coliseum has been the Athletics’ only home since moving to Oakland from Kansas City in 1968. It has been plagued with many issues in recent years, including plumbing problems, and is widely regarded as one of the worst stadiums in baseball.

Athletics president: New stadium is ‘100 percent’ top priority

Dave Kaval is set on finding a new home for his club.

The recently elected president of the Oakland Athletics was a guest Thursday on MLB Network Radio, where he confirmed to hosts Jeff Joyce and Mike Stanton that moving out of Oakland Coliseum is his primary goal with the team.

“One hundred percent. It’s really the key to our long-term success,” Kaval said. “We need to find a location where we can build a truly iconic stadium for the A’s in Oakland. That’s going to transform our ability to spend on major-league payroll and enable us to kind of be in that top-tier of spending, which should bring more championships to Oakland, which is a huge goal of ours.”

The Athletics have played out of the Coliseum since 1968, though they’ve shared the ballpark with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders every year since 1995. That co-tenancy has resulted in conflict over recent seasons, however, with each side putting blame on the other for some of the deplorable conditions at the stadium.

The Raiders, however, are planning a move to Las Vegas, leaving the Athletics the sole owners of the ballpark. Kaval, however, who has experience securing new stadium deals with the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS, is still trying to find a new place, though he intends to stay in the city.

“It’s going pretty well actually. We’re down to kind of three or four sites,” Kaval said. “They’re all in Oakland but they’re in different locations.

“We’re spending a lot of time right now working on the transit and traffic plan, making sure any site that we pick, people can get to easily, whether its public transportation, driving, parking, all that kind of stuff.”