A rendering of the 38,000-seat Howard Terminal 
ballpark in Oakland, just north of Jack London Sq.

HOWARD TERMINAL | Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton visited the tony East Bay enclave of Piedmont this weekend for a fundraiser at the home of developer Michael Ghielmetti.

Around 250 donors attended the event, including Oakland Assemblymember Rob Bonta and retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer who introduced Clinton to guests. Bonta also campaigned for Clinton last week in Nevada in advance of their Democratic caucus.

But, exclude Clinton from the equation, and the soiree had most of the players involved for the push to entice the Oakland Athletics to build a new downtown ballpark at Howard Terminal, just north of Jack London Square.

Ghielmetti, who is behind the $1.5 billion Brooklyn Basin development on Oakland’s Embarcadero, is also part Oakland Waterfront Ballpark LLC, a group trying to lure the A’s from the current Coliseum site to Howard Terminal. Doug Boxer, the son of Sen. Barbara Boxer, is also part of the same group.

Bonta’s connection to Howard Terminal is less known. Around the time Ghielmetti’s team was attempting to secure an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Port of Oakland, owners of the 50 acre property, Bonta’s office was in the early stages of drafting legislation hoping to bring state funding for infrastructure improvements that would connect the stadium to downtown.

But the Howard Terminal proposal lost steam and no bill was ultimately offered in the Assembly. However, Howard Terminal has only returned to the conversation as a possibility in recent months following a report A’s ownership is studying the feasibility of the site along with three others in the city. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has long been a supporter of moving the club to the downtown area, as was former Mayor Jean Quan.

Meanwhile, there is no word whether Clinton supports a new ballpark for the A’s in Oakland. But rest assured nobody from the team’s ownership team is a Clinton donor. A’s lead owner John Fisher is an avowed conservative who contributes to many Republican candidates and right wing causes.

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