LETTER: Let’s be honest about the Oakland A’s stadium giveaway
Regarding the five-hour legislative hearing on Memorial Day for the proposed $380 million in public financing for the A’s ballpark, how about a common-sense resolution for the billionaire team owner to pick up the whole tab?
Just listen to ace economist Jeremy Aguero (best known for missing the obvious warning signs of the Great Recession), who argues that the ballpark should go small with “a facility that is configured and designed to the size of demand.” Brilliant! Cut the 30,000-seat capacity in half to 15,000, which would be more than enough for the beleaguered A’s who average less than 9,000 fans a game. That way A’s owner John Fisher won’t need the $380 million handout, and he will even have money left over to build a parking garage on the off chance that cheerleader Steve Hill of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority is mistaken about his laughable argument that the Tropicana location is “walkable” for Las Vegans.
