The City of Oakland, which is home to the A's, Raiders and Warriors, approved 3.5 million Tuesday night to help retain its longtime professional sports franchises.
The Oakland Tribune reported that the City Council will spend 1.6 million on a development project involving JRDV Architects, Forest City Enterprises and HKS Sports and Entertainment and 1.9 million on a planning and environmental study.
Among the questions to be answer is whether the current Coliseum Complex can be upgraded or if it should be rebuilt entirely.
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"Part of it is what they call pre-development fees to assist a master developer on his responsibilities," Oakland city councilman Larry Reid told ABC7 News. "And the other piece is to pay for the planning."
The Warriors' lease agreement is up in 2017. The Raiders' lease expires in 2013.It's expected they would seek a football-only stadium configuration if they're the Coliseum's only tenant. Both the Raiders and A's have made it clear that having to share the Coliseum is not a long-term proposition.
The A's, whose lease also expires in 2013, are awaiting a decision from Major League Baseball about whether they can move to San Jose, which is currently considered the territory of the San Francisco Giants.