Oakland City Council vote: A's president explains key pieces of new proposal, next steps

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Shortly after Oakland City Council approved their own non-binding term sheet on the Howard Terminal project by a 6-1 vote (with one abstaining), Oakland Athletics President Dave Kaval sat down with ABC7's Larry Beil and Casey Pratt.

In their previous chat, Kaval said if they vote "yes" on the city's term sheet, then it would be considered a "no" vote.

RELATED: Oakland City Council approves own term sheet for A's new stadium at Howard Terminal

During Tuesday's interview with Kaval, MLB issued a statement via Bill Shaikin of the LA Times saying, "We are disappointed the City Council chose to vote on a proposal to which the A's had not agreed. We will immediately begin conversations with the A's to chart a path forward for the Club."
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Larry and Casey asked Kaval, "Are you in favor of going forward with negotiation with the City of Oakland?"

"Well we were disappointed that the city actually did not vote on our proposal, or one we agreed with today."



Kaval explained the proposal brought to the table Tuesday was not one the organization had seen before. That being said, Kaval says the A's need time to "unpack" what exactly is being offered, and how it relates to their original proposal.
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"We want to be thoughtful in analyzing that right now, talking to the league and getting their point of view, so we can determine the next best steps," he said.

RELATED: A's president Dave Kaval says July 20 vote is 'last at-bat' for team in Oakland

He says some of the key pieces of the term sheet that need further analysis are infrastructure, community benefits and timing.



Another big question he has is, "when can we get to a binding vote?" Kaval says the MLB is concerned about the binding vote as well.



Larry also talked to ABC7 News Contributor Phil Matier about the matter.



Matier described the situation as "both sides have a way out."
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"The City Council and the mayor voted 'yes' on their plan, so they can say 'well we did our part,'" he explained. "The A's are taking that and saying, 'but you didn't do our plan.' Major League Baseball and the A's have the next move in this," he said.

You can watch the full conversation with Phil Matier, here:


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