Oakland officials meet to discuss Oakland-area stadium plan
Floyd Kephart's Coliseum City proposal was the topic of discussion at a meeting of Oakland officials.
The debate centered around whether or not the city would front Kephart's proposed $100 million in infrastructure improvements around the current O.Co Coliseum, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
That number hasn't been palatable to many public officials, like city mayor Libby Schaaf. But councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan sided against Schaaf and a gathering of protestors, saying that the site must be developed for Oakland's future.
“Whether it’s going to be a shopping mall, a ballpark, or a concert (venue), the degree to which we can have future development connected to transit will have a huge impact on whether we can reduce our oil dependence to the degree that we need to,” Kaplan told the Chronicle.
Kaplan's mindset is a rare one. Oakland taxpayers are extremely hesitant to fork over any additional funds after 1995's "Mt. Davis" renovations -- O.Co Coliseum upgrades that the city is still paying for 20 years later.