East Bay Sports Fans Contribute to Potential New Stadium Project

By: Brian Shields - Thu, 13 Sep 2012 22:49:52 -0800

SAN LEANDRO (KRON) -- Some East Bay sports fans say they're willing to donate a little money now to keep big league sports in the Oakland area.

With the Golden State Warriors already announcing plans to leave Oakland to build a new arena in San Francisco and the Oakland Athletics asking Major League Baseball for permission to move to San Jose, activists say now is the time to show community support for a new stadium that could keep the A's and the Oakland Raiders in the East Bay for the long-term.

"For every Raiders game 1600 jobs are created," Christopher Dobbins with Save Oakland Sports tells KRON 4's Alicea Reid. "For every A’s game there are roughly 700 jobs and every Warriors game about 700 jobs."

Organizers say when the Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum was built in the 60's, the money came from public funds. With the pressures local governments are facing now, a new stadium would have to come from private money including corporations and ordinary sports fans.

People contributing at Thursday's events will see their donations go into the Oakland Stadium Fund Account which could be used to build a new stadium or to invest in community projects associated with such a venue.

(Copyright 2012, KRON 4, All rights reserved.)

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