Douglas Fruehling, editor-in-chief of the San Francisco Business Times, made a persuasive case for the ballpark plan at the Howard Terminal site.
Fruehling wrote:
The A’s have presented a commendable and admirable plan. It’s well conceived, well located and enshrines the best land-use practices around today — mixed-uses, public transit and placemaking. It aims to create a welcoming, friendly, progressive environment where people want to come, stay, eat, drink, lounge, picnic and spend money.
The editor added that he understands that taxpayers are wary of dealing with sports teams. But, in his opinion, this is a fair deal that is similar to other cities’ developments. He added:
The A’s have vowed to pay for it themselves, but they want help from the city on infrastructure. Think streets, curbs, sidewalks, streetlights and the like, not just for the ballpark site but for the whole mixed-use development. This is not unreasonable; it’s a common financial tool used for big projects, stadiums and otherwise, that benefit the public. Taxing districts are exactly the mechanism the city and team should be using to raise public money for the stadium and other community benefits over 45 years.
The column’s headline is: “Don’t let the A’s stadium at Howard Terminal slip away.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.