A's unveil plans to build 34K-seat stadium near downtown Oakland

The Oakland Athletics' seemingly never-ending quest for a new stadium has turned a very important corner.

On Wednesday morning, the A's revealed official plans to build a new stadium at the Howard Terminal site near downtown Oakland. The proposed ballpark would seat approximately 34,000 people, making it the smallest in Major League Baseball.

The stadium would be privately financed and would anchor a new neighborhood that the team says will include affordable housing, retail space, and parks, among other developments.

A previously floated idea of building a ski-lift-style gondola that would shuttle fans from downtown Oakland to the park while crossing railway tracks and an interstate is also part of the plan, according to Matier & Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle.

As part of the proposal, the Athletics also plan to redevelop the site of their current home, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, into a community space. Drawings show the footprint of the Coliseum being turned into a baseball diamond, while neighboring Oracle Arena - the soon-to-be-vacated home of the NBA's Golden State Warriors - would be repurposed as a concert venue.

A's president Dave Kaval told Maiter & Ross that the team would like to control both the Howard Terminal and Coliseum sites as part of the deal.

The Athletics have played in the Coliseum since moving to Oakland in 1968. It's regularly cited as one of the worst facilities in baseball, and a lack of renovations has led to many embarrassing incidents, including sewage problems, in recent seasons. Low attendance has also led the A's to tarp off significant portions of the Coliseum's upper deck, including the infamous "Mount Davis" in center field.

Past plans for a new Athletics stadium in Oakland have included building the park near Laney College - a proposal that the college voted down - and the Coliseum site itself. Moving the team from Oakland to nearby Bay Area cities of Fremont and San Jose has also been considered over the past decade, well before Howard Terminal emerged as the preferred locale.

Kaval said in April that he believes the team remains on track to open its new stadium in 2023.