Daniel Borenstein, editorial page editor of the East Bay Times and one of the Bay Area’s leading media voices, shared a thoughtful essay on the disingenuous nature of the A's financing structure in their recently released Howard Terminal proposal. In the piece penned for the East Bay Times, Borenstein reminds Oaklanders that the proposed stadium, 3,000 residential units, hotel, indoor performance center and about 1.8 million square feet of commercial and retail space "would be a development deal that includes a ballpark, not the other way around.
Kaval promises the team would provide $450 million of community benefits. But taxpayers, not the A’s, would foot the bill for those benefits — and the value is minimal because the amount is stretched over 45 years with no adjustment for the lost value due to inflation." Our coalition has long understood that sports franchises often "promote the false rationale that pro sports boosts local economies" and that "falling for that claim can be costly."
