Oakland Coliseum Not In Good Shape – Answer To Ted On Wellington

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Oakland Coliseum Not In Good Shape – Answer To Ted On Wellington – Video

This video is a response to “Ted on Wellington”‘s question to me via email, which is this:

Thank you for your effort and detailed reporting the affairs of civics and spectator sports. This tale has a list of characters and a plot to rival a Russian novel. What I did gather from the piece is that if a Raiders stadium in Oakland was really something that would provide a guaranteed benefit the city, city officials would be making a good faith effort to make it happen.

It seems pretty clear that if this deal was meant to be, it would be done already. The paralysis of both parties is evidence that neither party can prove that the rewards exceed the risks inherent in an Oakland stadium project. We should make good use this paralysis by using the current facility, at least until the last deal is paid off.

Finally, could you explain why we are considering a new stadium when the Coliseum complex is in far better physical condition than our streets, sewers, schools and parks?

Ted on Wellington.

My response, as I say in the video, is that the Coliseum is not in good shape, and we have a 22 year history of fearing to do big projects, regardless of the type of project, and rely more on champions for one, rather than a community task force around one. I started the Oakland Downtown Coalition in 1997 and that was a task force that worked to get all of the necessary parties together to agree on how 14th and Broadway should be redesigned to handle AC Transits’ “hub” system.
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