Dive Brief:

• The Oakland Athletics announced plans for a new Bjarke Ingels Group-designed ballpark on the site of what is now the Port of Oakland, California's Howard Terminal. The MLB franchise also plans to redevelop its current home, the Oakland Coliseum.
• The A’s new privately funded stadium will be an urban “ballpark within a park,” with a 34,000-seat capacity, blending into the surrounding neighborhood with features and amenities that will appeal to fans but keep visitors coming to the site all year. BIG’s stadium design includes an elevated park that will surround the seating bowl and meet the waterfront. The A’s also announced that the ballpark will be the anchor for a new waterfront district with housing — including affordable units — as well as restaurants, retail, space for small businesses and public areas. Meanwhile, the team will redevelop the Coliseum into a park and mixed-use neighborhood featuring a repurposed Oracle Arena, which will host concerts and cultural events, and a preserved Coliseum baseball diamond.
• The team has been working on the plan for a new ballpark for about a year, soliciting community input and conducting an in-depth analysis of its options. The A's will now enter a "120-Day Action Plan,” which identifies five objectives: gather community feedback; start the environmental review process at Howard Terminal; negotiate an agreement with the Port of Oakland for Howard Terminal; continue working with public officials on the Coliseum redevelopment; and start development of an economic and community benefits agreement.

Dive Insight:

Architecture firm Gensler, which has worked on many sports venues including the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center, is also part of the A’s design team. 

When the A’s first announced that BIG had been chosen to design a new stadium, there was an indication from the team that the new ballpark could be built on the Coliseum site. At the time, the A’s offered to buy the site for $137 million, but Mayor Libby Schaaf reportedly said that Oakland didn’t have the money to buy out Alameda County's interest in the Coliseum so that it could make the deal with the A’s. 

The Coliseum is also home to the Oakland Raiders, which should be playing in their new stadium in Las Vegas in the 2020 NFL season. According to the latest reports, the joint venture of Mortensen and McCarthy Building Cos. are on budget, on schedule and meeting their local business and diversity hiring goals.