A's strike out on site for new stadium in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Longtime Oakland A's fan Randy Eoff had just finished a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the Oakland Coliseum Complex when we caught up to him. When it comes to a new home for the baseball team, he was "hoping they were either going to stay on this site or maybe some Bayfront property."

Now the question of where the A's will play after 2020 is up in the air once again.

In a closed-door meeting Tuesday night, the Peralta Community College District decided not to open negotiations with the baseball team on a proposed new stadium on land Peralta owns near Laney College.

"It was never that this was a done deal and I think that I have been very clear that we had no commitment, no deal, no contract," said Peralta Community College District Chancellor Dr. Jowel Laguerre.

The Peralta Community District decided not to even open negotiations with the A's.

Part of the problem was internal opposition, with students and administrators voting no on the idea. Neighors also predicted traffic jams and gentrification.

The A's issued a statement Wednesday, saying "we are shocked by Peralta's decision to not move forward. All we wanted to do was enter into a conversation about how to make this work for all of Oakland, Laney and the Peralta Community College. We are disappointed that we will not have that opportunity."

This latest development appears to put the A's back at square one but it also opens the door just a crack to the city's plan to put a new stadium here on the Coliseum's existing site.

Oakland City Council member Noel Gallo told ABC7, " We have a coliseum site where they can continue to play baseball now and not miss a game, don't miss a beat and continue to build a brand new stadium right on site."

In a statement, Mayor Libby Schaaf also said, "Oakland remains fiercely determined to keep the A's in Oakland. It is unfortunate the discussion with Peralta ended so abruptly, yet we are committed more than ever to working with the A's and our community to find the right spot in Oakland for a privately financed ballpark."

And when the team gets over the shock, it's back to the drawing board

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