Given a choice, Oakland voters would pick the current Coliseum site over over Howard Terminal to be the home of a new A’s ballpark, according to a new poll.
The poll of 500 voters found 62% favored the Coliseum site, compared with 29% for the waterfront site at the Port of Oakland. The remaining 9% either didn’t know or didn’t care.
The poll marks the first time voters have been offered a straight-up preference question between the two locations.
“Before this poll was taken, the only real numbers out there were based on the question of whether you want the A’s to stay or how you feel about Howard Terminal if it’s the only option,” said Mike Jacob, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association and a member of the East Oakland Stadium Alliance, which commissioned the poll.
The alliance is largely made up of maritime businesses and unions that oppose the planned 34,000-seat waterfront ballpark and adjacent hotel, housing and office space. Its members contend the stadium would be bad for business because it would hamper port operations and create a traffic nightmare.