Laney College board halts ballpark plans, leaving Oakland A’s shocked

Buildings line the Peralta Community College District offices, one of the sites under consideration for a new Oakland Athletics stadium, on Sunday, May 28, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. Buildings line the Peralta Community College District offices, one of the sites under consideration for a new Oakland Athletics stadium, on Sunday, May 28, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Laney College board halts ballpark plans, leaving Oakland A’s shocked 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

The A’s plans to build a 35,000-seat ballpark in downtown Oakland near Lake Merritt derailed Wednesday when the community college district that owns the land halted talks with the baseball team.

The abrupt move “shocked” the A’s, who hired a design team last month for the ballpark and had support from Peralta Community College District Chancellor Jowel Laguerre, who had touted the benefits of collaborating with the team.

But at a Tuesday night closed-door meeting, the college district’s board of trustees ordered Laguerre to end his talks with the A’s, a decision Laguerre announced Wednesday morning that was immediately hailed as a victory by students and faculty who adamantly opposed the team’s plans to move next door.

Laguerre, however, later suggested to The Chronicle that there’s still hope for a ballpark at Laney: “I would never say the door is closed. The decision is to discontinue the engagement. That’s all it is. Who knows what the future may hold? ... We’ve come to the realization that the best thing for us is to stop, look at our needs, and then look at potential partnerships that could be aligned with our mission.”

Nonetheless, the A’s, whose leaders have been working with neighborhood, business and religious groups in the area to build support for a ballpark they hoped to open in 2023, appeared to take the trustees’ decision as a defeat.

“We are shocked by Peralta’s decision to not move forward,” the A’s said in a statement. “All we wanted to do was enter into a conversation about how to make this work for all of Oakland, Laney, and the Peralta Community College District. We are disappointed that we will not have that opportunity.”

It’s unclear what the team’s next step will be. A’s President Dave Kaval previously told The Chronicle there was no Plan B if the ballpark site near Laney College didn’t work out. City officials, meanwhile, have been largely silent over the team’s plans to build a ballpark at Laney.

In a statement to The Chronicle, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said he wants talks for an Oakland site to continue.

“We applaud the efforts by the Oakland A’s over the last year to engage the community in an open dialogue about their new ballpark,” Manfred said. “Today’s news comes as a surprise, and we urge Oakland leaders to rejoin the conversation.”

Major League Baseball officials have long viewed the site of the A’s current home, the Coliseum, as an optimal one because of existing infrastructure and proximity to freeways and BART. They might be more inclined to support the team building a ballpark there now, especially with a shorter timeline for completing a stadium.

In directing Laguerre to end talks with the A’s, the trustees told him to focus on what’s best for the college and its students and faculty. Trustee Nicky Gonzalez Yuen said the board “unambiguously” told the chancellor to end discussions with the A’s.

“I came to the conclusion that, one, as a district it was really out of our scope,” Yuen said, adding that he was speaking for himself. “We didn’t have the capacity to study this carefully. Two, the likelihood of it resulting in anything that would benefit Peralta was very minimal. ... And, three, there were so many outstanding questions about the impacts on the local community.”

The A’s plans to build a ballpark at a 15-acre property near Laney College faced steep opposition from some community groups and Laney College students and teachers. Counsel for the Peralta Federation of Teachers Local 1603 and members of the Associated Students of Laney College both voted against the ballpark.

Chris Weidenbach, co-chair of the Laney College English Department, said if ballpark plans are indeed canceled, “We’re elated.”

“A ballpark would massively disrupt all of our lives and the educational mission of our college,” he said.

On Wednesday, a coalition of faculty and students opposed to the ballpark demanded a firm commitment from the chancellor that the A’s plans are “off the table completely.” The Stay the Right Way coalition planned to march on the chancellor’s office in the afternoon.

“This is a victory for all of us who have been working to make Laney and Oakland places where working-class people of color can thrive,” said Alvina Wong, who is with the coalition. “The Peralta Board of Trustees did the right thing by putting the interests of Laney students and the surrounding communities first. We need to know that the chancellor is committed to doing the same, and that he won’t try to revive this stadium plan again next year.”

Kaval had promised to work with students, teachers and residents on a community-benefits plan that would include workforce training, affordable housing and other deals. The team said the ballpark will be privately financed by its owners.

Near Lake Merritt and Interstate 880, the site on which the team wants to build a ballpark is owned primarily by the Peralta Community College District. The city and Union Pacific Railroad own part of the land as well.

Oakland politicians had given only lukewarm support to the team’s preferred site. Mayor Libby Schaaf wanted the ballpark built at Howard Terminal along the Jack London Square waterfront. City Council President Larry Reid hoped it would stay at the Coliseum site in his East Oakland district — land that he and other advocates described as “shovel-ready” because environmental-impact and other necessary plans were finalized years ago.

On Wednesday, Schaaf reiterated her support for keeping the team in Oakland.

“Oakland remains fiercely determined to keep the A’s in Oakland,” Schaaf said in a statement. “It is unfortunate the discussion with Peralta ended so abruptly, yet we are committed, more than ever, to working with the A’s and our community to find the right spot in Oakland for a privately financed ballpark.”

By 2020, the A’s are likely to be the last remaining pro sports team in Oakland. The Raiders opted to move to Las Vegas after getting a lucrative public-financing stadium deal from Nevada, and the Warriors are moving to San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood, where an arena is under construction.

Whether the A’s will pursue another site in Oakland, or try to continue working with the college district, remains to be seen.

Last week, at a meeting of the Coliseum Authority board, Reid said Kaval told him that privately financing a ballpark at the Coliseum site wouldn’t be feasible. The authority’s executive director, Scott McKibben, said Kaval told him that the team estimated $240 million in annual revenue if it stayed put, but $325 million if it moved downtown next to Laney College.

After getting word of the college board’s decision, some City Council members including Rebecca Kaplan said they should immediately start working with the team on a deal at the Coliseum.

“That site could house a new A’s ballpark, along with shops, bars, restaurants and hotels to create a vibrant and successful environment,” Kaplan said in an email.

Proponents of the site next to Laney College said it would be a boon to the Peralta College system, whose financial reserves are rapidly shrinking.

Longtime A’s fan Steve Stevenson, who owns 1-2-3-4 Go! Records in Oakland and strongly supported either of the two downtown sites, said he was disappointed in the college district’s decision, which he called short-sighted, but he didn’t think it would force the team to leave the city.

“It seems like the Peralta system could use a deep-pocketed partner that has an incentive to help them thrive. (The A’s) were basically asking people, ‘Tell us where to write checks,’” Stevenson said. “The Coliseum is a bad choice. Maybe it’ll be at Howard Terminal. Hopefully there’s a secret Plan C.”

Chronicle staff writer Susan Slusser contributed to this report.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov