I was able to get to the Linden Street Brewery near JLS just a minute or two before mayoral candidate Rebecca Kaplan started her speech on sports in Oakland. Mike Davie, who is a fairly prominent Keep the A’s in Oakland figure, is volunteering on Kaplan’s campaign and introduced her. The speech lasted about 25 minutes, after which I had to leave. Here are some of the nuggets I got from it.
- She’d like to keep the A’s in town, have a rebuilt Coli be the home for both NFL franchises, bring a WNBA team to town, and attract more international soccer matches.
- Kaplan talked up the potential of TOD developments, citing the Coliseum as a distinct site with potential. She joked about the BART bridge being a “walkway of chain link doom.”
- She did not say it specifically, but I inferred that she would push for a A’s ballpark solution at the Coliseum, with new ancillary development around it to make it feel like a proper urban ballpark feel.
- She did not mention any of the JLS sites. She tried to make a distinction between what she called the “Possible Dream” (something that is feasible) and the “Impossible Dream” (something that people simply keep talking about in circles). Does this mean that she’s not a shill for the JLS-area developers that want/need the ballpark to boost their ROI?
That’s what I got from it. About 50 people attended. I felt like a media person, so as much as it pained me I didn’t partake in any beer (big fan of Linden’s version of steam beer) or freshly grilled hot dogs. We’ll see if any of the other candidates hold a similar forum.
newballpark.org 
A rebuilt coliseum for both the Raiders and 49ers is correct. Now, where is she going to get the money for this new A’s stadium at the Coliseum complex? Hasn’t this already been looked at and dismissed?
Where are you going to get money for a rebuilt Coli for the Raiders and ‘9ers? As I recall they still have about a decade to service existing debt on the remodel–not to mention that the ‘9ers have $100+M committed by city of SC–they are locating in SV where the corporate dollars are….everytime I hear the pipe dream of a shared complex in Oakland I wonder why when you can located both teams in a neutral city- Santa Clara- v. locating in Oakland’s home turf–IMHO -never see the ‘9ers doing this–
It’s a political rally. Who talks details as such events? Come on, now.
Maybe thats the problem I have…alot of what is/has been going on in Oakland is a political rally with few details and zero substance….I know we all like to rail on moonbeam for screwing the Uptown ballpark–it wasn’t only moonbeam—IDLF also voted against it—
So basically she’s got no plan. Because any ballpark plan that wants to be at the existing piss poor site is exactly that.
As for a joint Niners/Raiders stadium, that I have no doubt will be happening, but it’ll be in Santa Clara now that they’ve agreed to provide their portion of the funding.
Jeez Louise, people, could you take off your South Bay-colored glasses for a minute? This is about Oakland? If the tables were turned, no SJ politician would talk specifics either. Specifics are for after the election.
how much would it have cost to have just built the raiders their own venues back right next door to the coliseum when they returned in the mid 90s?
it cost what 200+ million for the renovation of the coliseum with the building of mt davis? estimate would it have cost 300 or so million to have built a separate 60K venue with the raiders possibly chipping in a bit, course i doubt that would’ve happened.
that way they could’ve built something similar to lets say what car did back in the mid 90s with a a football only venue that was ahead of it’s time during that decade although car franchise i read a few days ago want a new venue themselves. still a 15 or so year old football stadium that is football only probably would imo currently would satisfy the raiders and raiders fan. at this time the coliseum renovation you could argue a few years from now could be a empty shell with it being subpar for both baseball and football and we could easily see it having basically a 20 year life span from 97 when it was all finished to sometime in this middle of the 2010s when you could see both the a’s and raiders in sj/santa clara and the coliseum having zero tenants.
re: IDLF also voted against it—
what’s IDLF?
@pjk–Ignacio De La Fuente. He’s an Oakland City Councilman in the Fruitvale Dist. I’m not a big fan of his, but do like Rebecca Kaplan. I work in Oakland and have know all the players for years.
Polls show Perata with a big lead … do any of the Oakland experts know what his idea is for the ballpark? He seems to be keeping an awfully low profile compared with the Raiders deal.
@baycommuter–I’m not sure what Don’s idea is for a new ballpark. Maybe ML will shed some light on this. I just now sent him an e-mail on the q you asked and will report back here asap when he/they write me back.
Correction AGAIN. I sent Don Perata the e-mail, not ML..lol.
How do you edit these posts????
I am not an Oakland resident so if someone who is or is in the political know can tell me, is Oakland sports a winnable campaign platform? Obviously it will appeal to many but in these times of recession, increased crime and reduced police force, et al, what platform will bear the most weight? Does this candidate actually care or just providing lip service for a prominant campaign donor?
@Bay Area A’s
Kaplan’s thoughts on sports issues are not her main campaign focus. Economic development and employment opportunity is her focus, along with police issues and transit.
The reason she was talking about sports is because it’s a part of revitalization, and it’s an economic opportunity. It’s also a part of helping Oakland get it’s pride back. Kaplan is often quoted talking about the “oakland renaissance”.
Additionally, none of the other candidates are paying any attention or making any mention of how Oakland seems perpetually threatened with losing it’s sports franchises. It makes sense that Kaplan would see it as important to address something her rivals are missing.
Lastly, I’m pretty sure Mike Davie isn’t a big donor. I know he’s a volunteer and a supporter.
Thanks Max.