A big step was taken late Thursday night towards keeping the Athletics in Oakland.
To cap a meeting that lasted over eight hours, the Oakland City Council voted 6-2 in favor to certify the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the A’s quest to build a waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal in Oakland.
The EIR, originally released in mid-December, was 3,500 pages long and highlighted how the project would be environmentally safe and sustainable. The council listened to hundreds of public comments during the meeting.
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“Tonight’s vote by the City Council was a historic moment for Oakland’s future,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement. “The companion resolution by Councilmembers Bas, Kaplan and Kalb ensures that all Oaklanders will benefit from the proposed waterfront ballpark district and that a world-class development with 18 acres of new public parks, 3,000 units of housing – including new affordable housing – will get built with the most sustainable and highest environmental standards on our waterfront.”
A’s president Dave Kaval also weighed in on the results via Twitter.
“Tonight’s action is more than a milestone – it’s a giant leap forward in our shared mission to create a regional destination that gives back our waterfront to the public, connects a new vibrant neighborhood to our downtown and provides tens of thousands good union jobs for our residents – and it does it all while keeping our beloved A’s rooted in Oakland,” Schaaf said.