Report: Oakland and A's talk deal to drop lawsuit

The Oakland Athletics are looking to make a deal for the City of Oakland's share of the Coliseum-Arena land.

The Oakland Athletics are looking to make a deal for the City of Oakland's share of the Coliseum-Arena land. Photo: Douglas Zimmerman/SFGate.com Photo: Douglas Zimmerman/SFGate.com Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Report: Oakland and A's talk deal to drop lawsuit 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Hoping to drop the lawsuit that has put a wrench into their new ballpark plans, the Oakland A's approached the City of Oakland to buy their share of the Oakland-Alameda Arena and Coliseum complex for $85 million or enter into a long term lease agreement for the land.

According to a report in The Chronicle, A's president Dave Kaval made the offer during a Monday afternoon meeting with city officials. The proposal was made in response to a lawsuit the city of Oakland filed last month opposing the sale of Alameda County's 50 percent share of the Oakland Coliseum and Oakland Arena site to the baseball team. The Coliseum site is jointly owned by Alameda County and the City of Oakland.

Alameda County made a deal earlier this year with the Athletics to sell their 50 percent share of the land, also for $85 million. The Oakland City Council filed the lawsuit opposing the sale, arguing it violated the Surplus Land Act, a California state law. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaff is opposed to the lawsuit and has been told by MLB that if it is not dropped, the team may move to Las Vegas.

The Athletics have been attempting to build a new stadium at the Howard Terminal near Jack London Square. They want to acquire the Coliseum land to construct a commercial and residential development to help finance the new stadium, or as a backup location in case they are unable to build at Howard Terminal.

If agreed to by the city, the baseball team and Oakland will have six months to work out terms of the deal. However, the City of Oakland will have to drop their lawsuit to enter into any possible agreement.

For more details, click on the Chronicle story.

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View Online Photo Editor Douglas Zimmerman's latest stories and send him news tips at dzimmerman@sfgate.com. Follow on Twitter @zimpix

