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COMMENTARY: U.S. Grant for New Waterfront Ballpark Would Help A’s Far More Than Oakland

There are numerous examples of sports deals failing to deliver the fiscal returns promised by local governments: the Atlanta Braves stadium, where office buildings penciled in to pay for the stadium were never built; the University of Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center left the city $28 million in debt and the Washington Nationals’ failure to build 46,000 square feet of promised commercial and retail space alongside the baseball stadium.

Published

3 years ago

November 25, 2022

Kitty Kelly Epstein

Port of Oakland file photo.

By Kitty Kelly Epstein

Once in a generation — if we’re lucky — we see huge federal investment in infrastructure.

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Mega Grant program, communities across the country have been asked to identify their highest-priority projects in the first round of long-needed transportation investment funding to help make U.S. transit safer, more efficient and resilient to future challenges.

But not all projects hit that mark.

Here in the Bay Area, several major transformative projects have applied for Mega Grant funding and are worthy of this kind of investment. Contra Costa County’s 680 Forward project, for example, would improve mobility along Interstate 680, the backbone corridor for the region’s supply chain and commuters, linking airports, business centers and seaports.

Then, there’s Oakland: Mayor Libby Schaaf’s administration applied for a $182 million Mega Grant to help fund what it describes as a “waterfront mobility hub” at Howard Terminal in Jack London Square. In reality, though, the grant would help billionaire Oakland A’s owner John Fisher develop his $12 billion proposal for luxury condos and a stadium far more than it would the public.

The Mega Grant program, which is currently reviewing initial proposals, should reject the proposal.

The problems with such an application are obvious and numerous. First, even if the city got a Mega Grant, Oakland’s City Council would need to approve its use. The mayor has no role in that process and so far, the City Council has yet to see a development agreement or receive the independent financial analysis it requested early this year.

The Council has, however, received an update from City staff that there is nowhere near enough money to finance the project. According to a September informational memo from Assistant City Administrator Elizabeth Lake, the cost to the public would, “significantly exceed the A’s previous estimate.” How much that cost will increase and how the city plans to pay for it is unclear.

Moreover, if a proposal with actual terms is ever presented, it will be after Schaaf and several current Council members are out of office. It is possible — perhaps even likely — given the financial uncertainties, that the new City Council will not approve the project, and if it does, there are multiple lawsuits pending and additional regulatory hurdles to cross.

The Mega Grant criteria appear to require that proposed projects clear the likely hurdles they might encounter along the way. The Howard Terminal proposal does not meet that criterion.

Of course, it is also possible that Fisher, for whom this taxpayer largesse is intended, will still end up moving his team to Las Vegas.

According to a poll last December, 46% of Oakland residents do not support using public money for this project, compared to 37% who do. The poll also found that even among A’s fans, who comprise a 53% majority of the electorate, support is tepid at best.

Oakland residents already have real transportation concerns that the city needs to address: traffic congestion, along with its impact on climate and public health; deferred maintenance of roadways; gaps in the availability of reliable public transportation; the efficient movement of goods through the supply chain, including at the Port of Oakland.

But residents, stakeholders and experts were never asked how they might want to spend a Mega Grant. No hearings; no webinars; no surveys — not even consideration for existing projects in Oakland’s Capital Improvement Plan.

And, ironically, this proposal is chasing transportation dollars for a project that nearly all the transportation stakeholders at the port, including those running container trucks and trains through our city, agree will make congestion and safety situations worse.

In the absence of the independent financial analysis promised earlier this year, port stakeholders commissioned an independent report from Nola Agha, a professor of sports management at the University of San Francisco and expert on stadium projects. Agha’s report concluded that revenue projections for the development are overestimated, project costs are underestimated, and indirect costs are not accounted for.

Here in Oakland, much of the pro forma for the Howard Terminal development relies on revenues from office, retail and high-end condos — all of which have a risky outlook in the post-pandemic economy. These critical elements of the project financing may never get built.

Significant opportunities to improve and build up our region with the help of the federal government are few and far between. Using them to support a private development for which there is no approved development agreement is a bad idea. The City of Oakland’s Mega Grant application sacrifices critical funding for the Bay Area’s real infrastructure needs.

Kitty Kelly Epstein is a scholar, an Oakland resident, host of a radio show and the author of three books on Oakland and urban affairs.

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How Charles R. Drew University Navigated More Than $20 Million in Fed Cuts – Still Prioritizing Students and Community Health

Named after the pioneering physician Dr. Charles R. Drew, famous for his work in blood preservation, CDU’s mission is to cultivate “diverse health professional leaders dedicated to social justice and health equity for underserved populations through education, research, clinical service, and, above all, community engagement.”

Published

3 hours ago

November 16, 2025

Oakland Post

Photo Caption: The campus of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) in Los Angeles. CBM photo by Max Elramsisy.

Charlene Muhammad | California Black Media

Earlier this year, when the federal government slashed more than $20 million in grants to Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU), the leadership of California’s only historically Black medical school scrambled to stabilize its finances — while protecting its staff and students.

The school is widely recognized as a vital pipeline for Black doctors and other health professionals throughout California.

Dr. David Carlisle (center), President of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU), with two of the university’s students. Photo Courtesy of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.

Dr. Jose Torres-Ruiz, CDU’s Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, said the university—designated as a Historically Black Graduate Institution (HBGI)—was notified in early March 2025 that most of its major grants, including the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) award, known at CDU as the “Accelerating Excellence in Translational Science” (AXIS Grant), would be terminated. Initially renewed, the grant was later revoked because its language did not align with the current federal administration’s priorities.

The AXIS Grant provides $4.5 million per year for five years through the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. CDU quickly reallocated other funds to protect its scientists, staff, and technicians, though some personnel losses were unavoidable.

“We didn’t want to fire them because these people have expertise that takes years to gain,” Torres-Ruiz said.

The grant is crucial, he added, funding research in cancer, diabetes, and metabolic diseases that affect the Willowbrook community in South Los Angeles, training the next generation of scientists, and supporting community outreach.

Programs at the school, including its youth and teen mentoring programs reach beyond the walls of the university, impacting the lives and quality of health care of people in the surrounding community, one of the most underserved areas in Los Angeles County.

Confronted with the harsh reality of funding cuts, the university’s leadership made an early, strategic choice to honor its foundational commitment and prioritize its students. Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, dean of CDU’s College of Medicine, highlighted the school’s deliberate focus on admitting students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds — many of whom are Pell Grant recipients and graduates of public high schools.

“We are staying true to our mission, finding creative ways to prioritize what’s most important,” she said. “I’m optimistic because of our students—they are dedicated and committed to service.”

In addition, the $2 million-per-year John Lewis NIMHD Research Endowment Program, intended to strengthen CDU’s research infrastructure, was terminated with three years remaining after a February 2025 freeze on nearly all federal grants for public health, education, and infrastructure projects.

Following an appeal, CDU learned in June that the RCMI grant had been fully reinstated, along with all but eight smaller grants. The university’s next priority is restoring the John Lewis Endowment.

“We are working with NIH staff to adjust the language. Certain words like ‘diversity’ and ‘equity,’ which are core values of our institution, are now under scrutiny,” Torres-Ruiz explained.

CDU has also expanded funding sources by targeting foundations and private donors. “This may happen again. We cannot rely solely on federal agencies,” Torres-Ruiz said, emphasizing the importance of building relationships with politicians and private partners.

Prothrow Stith echoed Ruiz’s perspective on cultivating multiple funding sources. “Building bridges with private foundations helps, but it doesn’t erase the disruption,” she said.

Many students rely on federal loans, CDU leaders say. Those loans are now capped at $150,000. So, most medical students graduate with $300,000–$350,000 in debt when accounting for tuition and living expenses.

To lower the burden on students, CDU is exploring options to make education more affordable, including overlapping school years to reduce annual costs.

Students like Isaiah Hoffman and Bailey Moore epitomize CDU’s values.

Hoffman, an aspiring orthopedic surgeon from Inglewood, credits Drew for inspiring his career choice. Out of 12 medical school acceptances, he chose CDU to give back to his community and continue Drew’s legacy. Hoffman also founded H.O.M.I.E.S. Inc., a nonprofit pairing Black K–12 students with mentors to support academic and personal growth.

Moore, 23, from Southeast Washington, D.C., pursued CDU to address maternal health disparities she observed in her own community – an underserved area of the nation’s capital city. “CDU pours into you. It emphasizes service, and I hope for a world without health disparities,” she said. “Drew may be small, but Drew is mighty. It was created out of necessity to save lives and empower communities.”

CDU President and CEO Dr. David Carlisle acknowledged during the Aug. 28 “State of the University” that the institution faces ongoing challenges. Political threats and grant disruptions contributed to a sizable unrestricted budget deficit, despite achievements over the past year.

Successful appeals and alternative sources of funding, led by Vice Provost Dr. Ali Andallibi, have now restored all the monies previously lost in research funding, he said.

Carlisle expressed gratitude to L.A. Care Health Plan and Sutter Health for providing multimillion-dollar scholarships and highlighted that CDU would welcome approximately 1,050 incoming students—near its highest enrollment ever. “I’m deeply grateful for the resolve, diligence, and unwavering commitment of everyone here, even when the path is not easy,” he said.

At the gathering, Carlisle referred to the sounds of ambulances passing by with blaring sirens as- the “music of healthcare,” while students and the school’s leadership attending expressed resilience in their speeches and conversations. The activities of the day captured the institution’s focus on education, service and advancing health care across disadvantaged communities in California – and beyond.

Video Report: How Charles Drew Stayed Strong Amid Federal Funding Cuts