A’s are getting in the way of 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup coming to the Coliseum
Team is worried about scheduling and quick conversion of the field surface
CITY NEWS
—CRICKETS FROM THE A’S—The governing body for the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup, one of the most-watched sporting events in the world, wants to host a group stage match at the Oakland Coliseum. But the current tenants, the Oakland Athletics, are cool to the idea.
—The West Indies and United States are co-hosting the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup. Representatives for the International Cricket Council toured the Coliseum last December and found it and the location desirable for two reasons:
—There’s a large and growing fan base in the Bay Area, and the Coliseum is one of the few venues in the country that has the combination of the required field size for cricket matches and a large seating capacity. The Coliseum can hold 53,000 fans.
—However, the A’s have two major qualms with the event: The T20 World Cup will be held in the summer, right in the middle of the baseball season, which often translates to larger crowds for the A’s.
—In addition, Major League Baseball may not be amenable to accommodating a lengthy road-trip for the A’s because it not only affects the ball club, but also other teams,” said David Rinetti, vice president of stadium operations.
—The A’s also worry the roughly 10-day turnaround time for converting the field from baseball to cricket and back can’t be met. The main issue is the ICC wants to dig deeper into the baseball infield dirt in order to lay fresh sod, which is time-consuming, rather than merely placing it over the existing clay.
—In a letter, the A’s told the Oakland Coliseum Authority officials they are not able to make a firm commitment, at this time. ICC officials conveyed to Authority officials that the A’s did not appear on-board with their proposal even after offering a trial run last month for converting the field to cricket and back.
—Time is ticking. Authority officials believe they have only until March to get a deal done with the ICC and the A’s, and many issues remain unresolved.
—“Time kills all deals,” Oakland Coliseum Authority Board Commissioner Chuck Baker said at Friday morning’s board meeting. He urged for discussions to be quickly ramped up. “If there’s revenue lost, that needs to be mitigated,” he said. “We’re in the last mile of the deal.
—Oakland Coliseum Authority officials believe hosting a T20 Cricket World Cup match would be a boon for the city and county. Although barely a blip on the U.S. sports calendar, cricket is the world’s second most popular sport next to soccer, and the tournament drives high viewership across the globe.
—“The worldwide attention for Oakland and the county would be almost incalculable—for free,” said Henry Gardner, the executive director of the Oakland Coliseum Authority. “This kind of opportunity comes once every two to three decades.”
—Authority officials say they made it clear to the organizers that no local funds will be used for the event outside of promotional activities.
OAKLAND
—STAFFING UP—Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao named the city’s public works director to serve as interim city administrator this week. The interim city administrator will give way to another interim on March 13. Harold Duffey takes over for Ed Reiskin, who announced last month that he would leave the position at the end of January.
—When March rolls around, veteran East Bay city manager Steven Falk, will take the helm until a permanent city administrator is hired. Falk served as Oakland interim city administrator in 2020. Thao also tabbed Kimberly Mayfield as deputy mayor, and Leigh Hanson as chief of staff.
COUNTY NEWS
—DRIVING THE BUS—John Bauters, the Emeryville councilmember who never passes up a selfie on his bike route, was re-elected to chair of the Alameda County Transportation Commission. Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert was elected vice chair.
—MUSICAL CHAIRS—Meanwhile, at the Oakland Coliseum Authority, Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan was named chair of the Board of Commissioners on Friday morning.
—Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who previously served as chair, is now vice chair.
—Oakland Councilmember Kevin Jenkins also took over one of the city’s dedicated seats on the board. He replaces Councilmember Treva Reid.