The  A’s lost 102 games this past season, their first 100-loss season since 1979 and only the second since they moved to Oakland in 1968. Ownership is pouring millions of dollars into a ballpark development plan that has yet to be approved And the lease on the Coliseum, their dilapidated home expires after the 2024 season.

Things aren’t looking good for the A’s in Oakland. Still, Billy Beane holds out hope.

“Listen, at some point we will have a new stadium, that’s what makes me feel good. I hope it’s within my tenure,” Beane said Monday. “But we will, and I think the organization and the city deserve it. It’ll happen.”

Beane is one of the organization’s few constants. The president of baseball operations has been in Oakland for more than 30 years and, despite the team finding new lows, he says he plans to stay with the A’s for “as long as they’ll have me.”

Beane, 60, has fielded a couple calls from interested teams over the years who hope to pluck the analytics pioneer from the low-budget A’s. But the Bay Area is home; his children go to school in the area, he’s rooted in the community.

He has seen firsthand the team’s many failures to build a ballpark in Oakland over the years. To him, there’s no question that team owner John Fisher and team President Dave Kaval are trying in earnest to build a new ballpark at Howard Terminal – even as they flirt with moving the team to Las Vegas.

“The one thing I do know about our pursuit is that since it started with Dave and John Fisher, they’ve been obsessed with trying to secure a venue here, and it’s not easy,” Beane said. “I can tell you having seen both sides of it. The frustration from a team standpoint is, yeah, it would be nice to be at that point where we can have some continuity. We don’t, and until we have a new venue we’re not going to.

“I can tell you it’s not through lack of trying. And I say that from both sides, too, it’s not an easy issue. There’s no, ‘Hey, whose fault is it? It’s this person or this city.’ It’s not at all. This is a challenging project for everybody on both sides.”

Even in a best-case scenario, the Howard Terminal ballpark development won’t be open by the time the A’s lease at the Coliseum is up in 2024. Negotiations and votes are moving at a glacial pace.

Here’s where things stand with Howard Terminal, the $12 billion multi-use development that includes a $1 billion ballpark the A’s proposed to build nearly five years ago.

What you might have missed

The Howard Terminal project cleared a major hurdle on June 30, when the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission voted 23-2 in favor of the A’s request to remove Howard Terminal’s 56 acres from port designation. That put the future of the lot into the City of Oakland’s hands.

But a Sept. 30 deadline for the A’s and Oakland to agree on terms for a final development plan passed without an agreement to send to the City Council for a final, binding vote. The deadline was self-imposed but necessary for the current administration – the City Council and Mayor Libby Schaaf – to have a vote before the election in November.

Now the A’s will have to sell the new mayor and city councilmembers on the ballpark. Kaval said in June that the project could be “doomed” if negotiations moved into 2023.

Negotiations continue, however. The sides are still sorting through who will pay for infrastructure and transportation upgrades, along with affordable housing. Oakland has raised $320 million in federal and state funds to pay for the upgrades, but will need more money than that.

The A’s did not respond to requests for comment.

Election impact

Schaaf has been a strong advocate for the Howard Terminal project and the Oakland city council looked to be trending in favor of approving the project once enough money was raised.

Schaaf reached her maximum number of terms and new council members will be elected in November.

Of the eight council members, two will have to give up their seats. Sheng Thao (District 4) and Loren Taylor (District 6) are running for mayor and looking like front runners. The mayor is a tiebreaker in any vote, and both have voiced support for the Howard Terminal project.

“Ultimately, we can’t we can’t control whether (the A’s) are really posturing to have an excuse to go to Las Vegas,” Taylor said.

Thao has said she thinks she “can get to a yes” from the Oakland and the A’s side of the deal, stipulating that the deal must include a certain amount of affordable housing and community investment.

Three other members could potentially give up their seats. Nikki Fortunado-Bas is running for re-election in District 2. Council member at large Rebecca Kaplan is running for higher office and Treva Reid (mid-term representing District 7) is also running for Mayor.

What about Vegas?

Kaval has said the A’s plans in Oakland are running at a “parallel path” to their plans in Las Vegas. If the Howard Terminal project falls apart with a new city council and mayor in office, the A’s already will have options in Las Vegas.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the A’s are in talks with casino magnate Phil Ruffin to build on a 38-acre lot on the north side of the Las Vegas strip.

The A’s are also in talks about the 35-acre plot on which the Tropicana hotel sits on the strip. Bally’s Corp. owns the plot and could demolish the building and build a ballpark, according to the Review-Journal.

What’s next?

All eyes in A’s camp will be fixed on Oakland’s November election. If officials elected are in support of keeping the Howard Terminal project alive, talks to strike a deal to send to a binding vote can continue.

But elections are unpredictable and, in any event, the A’s camp has to start anew with a new mayor in office, at least.

“I know the effort is going into making it happen here,” Beane said, “I’ve seen it first hand.”

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