THE CARMICHAEL DAVE SHOW

A’s President Dave Kaval Talks Stadium Efforts, Relocation & More With Carmichael Dave

Jun 9, 2021, 8:15 AM | Updated: 8:24 am

(Credit: Darren Yamashita)...

(Credit: Darren Yamashita)

(Credit: Darren Yamashita)

This week on The Carmichael Dave Show with JayMarzz, Oakland Athletics team president Dave Kaval joined the show to discuss the recent developments of the Howard Terminal bid for a new ballpark and address the franchise’s decision to explore markets outside of the Oakland area.

Oakland A’s President Dave Kaval on The Carmichael Dave Show (June 9, 2021)

Kaval, 44, was named President of the Athletics back in 2016, becoming the seventh team president in franchise history.

While Kaval and the Athletics organization have done an admirable job of upgrading the aging Oakland Coliseum, the time has come for a change.

The franchise is awaiting the results of a summer vote from the Oakland City Council that will play a role in determining the fate of future of Oakland A’s baseball in the state of California.

“We have a big vote coming up this summer on July 20th for the city council to finally weigh in on the project. We have spent almost five years of really hard work and dedication getting to this point. We have a tremendous and dynamic waterfront vision for a privately financed ballpark, and we need to see if the city council agrees with that vision,” Kaval told Dave in regards to the latest efforts for a new ballpark at the Howard Terminal site.

“So, we have a vote on (July) 20th, and if we get a yes on that, we hopefully can get a binding vote in September on the environmental report and then we can be off to the races.”

Major League Baseball has instructed the A’s to explore options outside of the Oakland area due to the stalled progress of locking in a new home for the Athletics.

On the process of relocation, Kaval shared the following:

“Obviously because this has taken so long and that there have been so many trials and tribulations to the journey, the league has made it very clear that we need to start looking at other options and that is why we have introduced Las Vegas in southern Nevada who is kind of on a parallel track for a potential ball park. (If the Oakland City Council votes no in July) obviously that would be very sad. We’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars, time and effort and we think that we have a really dynamic and visionary plan and it can be positive for the city, community and the A’s, but at the end of the day, it is the city council’s decision. They are the elected officials. They have to decide whether or not the project makes sense.

“I think it is important for people to remember that we really are down to our last site in Oakland. It really is Howard Terminal or bust. That’s why we are putting everything into getting an affirmative vote this summer.”

Carmichael Dave raised the question on what other cities are in play for the franchise, with Kaval making it clear that the process is down to two possibilities: Oakland and Las Vegas.

“We visited southern Nevada, we are planning on visiting again, we have had a lot of really good conversations there. At the same time, we are pushing very hard here in Oakland.”

The lease on the aging Oakland Coliseum runs through the 2024 regular season. Since 1968, the A’s have called the coliseum home, but the building is on its last legs. Kaval stated that it isn’t fair to the players or fans and that change must come–and will come whether it is in the form of the Howard Terminal project or a new stadium in Las Vegas.

“We can’t have a Major League Baseball team without a ballpark. That’s what we are headed towards here, because the current facility is at least 10 years past its useful life. Obviously, the other tenant, the Raiders, have already left. We have a had a hard time keeping the lights standards working. We have to bring this to some type of resolution. We need to have multiple options because this has taken so long, and that is kind of the nature of the situation. We are running out of time in Oakland and we have to look at other places.”

To listen to the full interview with Oakland A’s president Dave Kaval, click the “play” button on the audio file that is located at the top of the page.

For full episodes of The Carmichael Dave Show with JayMarzz, click here.

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