Oakland Coliseum Could Become Youth Sports Academy When A's Leave
The Oakland A’s recently selected a site near Laney College to build its new stadium. The team will move into its new home by 2022 if all goes according to plan.
The Oakland Coliseum is currently home to the A’s and Oakland Raiders, but both teams will soon be on the move. The Raiders have already agreed to move to Las Vegas as soon as 2019. The Golden State Warriors basketball team — who currently plays at Oracle Arena, which is located next to the Coliseum — are also preparing to leave. They’ll move to a new arena in San Francisco in 2019 as well.
With all three major sports franchises set to leave behind the stadiums and all of that space, what happens next?
According to Oakland A’s President Dave Kaval, the baseball team is interested in redeveloping the area into a youth sports academy once all three teams have moved out. Kaval says it would be a recreational complex that includes baseball and soccer.
Per ABC7, Kaval believes this will be a win-win situation. Young athletes will have a place to go to improve at their sport, professional teams would gain a pipeline of new talent, and jobs would be created for the city of Oakland.
The team plans to solicit public input from local residents in the coming year as they move forward with their new stadium plans.