Oakland Mayor Quan Says City Ready to Negotiate to Keep the A's
OAKLAND (KCBS)— Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said Friday the city is sending a letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to make it absolutely clear her city wants to keep the A's.
According to the mayor, two sites are ready for new ballparks.
Quan said the city wants to get to the table with Selig to discuss building a brand new downtown waterfront ballpark dubbed Victory Court or building a "Coliseum City" at the Oracle site.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
Either way, as plans for a San Jose stadium heat up, Quan said Oakland is the only Bay Area city she thinks that can be ready with a new ballpark by 2016.
"We're ready to negotiate; we're putting out our term principles. We want Major League Baseball to formally enter into negotiations with us. We can get this done this spring," she said.
Assistant City Administrator Fred Blackwell said six planners and developers have already expressed interest in Coliseum City.
"People, who have managed, developed and run sports facilities in the past have all indicated there would be private financing available," Blackwell said.
The group Let's Go Oakland also said they've secured half a million dollars in deposits for luxury boxes and corporate naming rights for the downtown Victory Court site.
Environmental Impact Reports haven't been done for either site, but Quan said if they get the MLB's okay, they could move fast.
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