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Oakland mayor Schaaf: 'Really productive' talks happening with A's, Raiders

Published Jul. 8, 2015 9:48 a.m. ET

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The respective futures of the Oakland Athletics and Oakland Raiders continue to be hot-button issues in the Bay Area.

On Tuesday, Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf spoke with the folks at CSN Bay Area regarding the conversations she's having lately with the teams. The A's, she told Ray Ratto and Tim Kawakami on SportsTalk Live: But Seriously, are saying intriguing things about their desires to stay in town: "The exciting thing for me is that the A's, for the first time, have very publicly stated that they are focused on staying in Oakland, and that their energies are focused on an Oakland ballpark. That is really good news for Oakland fans...We’ve seen privately financed stadiums work, particularly here in the Bay Area. We are having some really productive talks with the Raiders and the A’s.”

On the topic of where the A's might play should a new facility materialize, Schaaf stressed the viability of their current location: “(The Coliseum) is a great site for a ballpark because of the great access to BART, and the land is entitled. That is a winner for either the A’s or Raiders, whoever decides to stay on that land. If the A’s want to stay at the Coliseum site, they have an entitlement there. I don’t think we’re going to force them to do something they don’t want to do, because we want to keep them and we want them to pay for the new ballpark.”

Here's her full chat on the CSN Bay Area program: 

Whether Schaaf's words are substantive moves in the 'right direction' remain to be seen, but she's definitely enthusiastic about what she's been hearing - so this will be an issue worth monitoring as the conversation rolls along.

(h/t CSN Bay Area)

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