The Alameda County Coliseum Commission has approved an initial study on building a new football stadium near the current Coliseum site. The stadium will be a dual-use site, meaning that both the Raiders and 49ers will use the stadium. Even though the 49ers are trying to move to Santa Clara, it appears that their plan is in trouble and facing rejection by the voters. 

The City and County have been working diligently to prepare an alternative site. The City of Oakland has acquired the old Auto Zone site on Hegenberger, next to the Coliseum, with redevelopment funds for an extremely reasonable price. 

County officials like Supervisor Scott Haggerty have been working with the NFL, pushing the idea of a dual team stadium. Hopefully, the 49ers and the always contrary Raiders will see the logic of one stadium as two teams have so well in bigger places like New York.

Many people still ask why a new football stadium is so important. One simple answer: billions of dollars into the local economy. The construction costs of a new stadium alone would be nearly a billion dollars. That would create construction-related jobs for several years. Local vendors would have a customer base that will ensure many new jobs. 

Once the stadium is built, it will serve as the charger that creates new development along Hegenberger. Instead of low-slung buildings, imagine hotels, restaurants, entertainment and housing clustering around the Coliseum sports complex. 

That could re-energize Oakland’s economy and create thousands of new jobs that Oakland desperately needs. We can not repeat the fiasco of the 90’s Raiders’ deal, where the City of Oakland gave Al Davis millions of dollars and got nothing in return. 

Yes, you are still paying on the money spent to lure the Raiders to Oakland -- and will likely be doing so for the next 15 years. Yes, that money could have been used for more City services like police and schools. And yes, many of the same politicians who made the horrendously bad Raiders deal are still lurking around Oakland. 

However, this deal will be different for a number of factors. First, the NFL will be actively involved in the development and construction. The NFL is a multi-billion business that simply does not leave stadium construction to the locals. There would be numerous guidelines and safety checks to ensure the stadium is built in a competent and consistent manner. 

Second, the NFL would provide the bulk of the financing since they have a vested interest to ensure it’s done correctly. Third, the citizens of Oakland and Alameda County would probably be much more diligent this time around in ensuring that our leaders negotiate a better deal. 

There will not be a repeat stampede of politicians rushing to give more of Oakland’s money away the way they did to lure the Raiders. So, it is up to you to be diligent regarding the deal, but do remember the huge benefits in return.

After my last column, I received numerous responses asking what could be done to bring more businesses to Oakland. Well, lets start with active recruitment of businesses. For example, a Portland-based apparel firm named Lucy Active Wear Clothing Co. relocated its headquarters to the East Bay. Not to Oakland; They went to San Leandro. Gee, I wonder what San Leandro did that Oakland did not do to acquire the headquarters of an apparel store. 

Here’s a $57 million revenue-based company with about 65 stores across the country and approximately 100 direct jobs at their new headquarters, with hundreds more of indirect jobs. Just think of the sales tax, business tax and jobs this business could have generated in Oakland. We certainly have the space and could have brought new jobs and  business right here to Oakland.

The federal government has created a project to encourage development along transit corridors. With the designation of a "priority development area,” cities can acquire millions of dollars to increase transit and transit oriented development in their cities.

As you know, Oakland has six BART stations and ten major bus corridors within the city.  With aggressive action by our city leadership, we can bring millions of dollars into Oakland to increase transit-oriented development.

More people living in the urban corridor, using public transportation and working near their homes, can benefit Oakland greatly. Just think of the transformation to our city if housing and jobs are placed near public transportation sites and how it could transform San Pablo, Broadway, Telegraph, Shattuck, International Blvd., Foothill, Bancroft and many, many more streets.

You can see the results of this kind of development in other cities around the Bay. For example, because Pleasant Hill convinced AAA to build its new Northern California headquarters next to the Pleasant Hill BART station (another Oakland loss), a developer is currently building 422 residential units near the BART station and has secured $59 million in funding from the Federal government. Walnut Creek was able to build an 87-unit project near their BART station. 

Both these areas have less urban space, less population, and less potential to grow than Oakland. Yet, they have secured millions of dollars based on jobs and housing built near transit stations. You have to ask yourself - why this is not happening in Oakland? 

Shorenstein Properties is preparing for the next building boom. They have opened up a new investment fund of $1 billion. This is unusual because their prior fund of $1.3 billion has only spent 50% of its funds. They are currently looking for new investment sites that fit their previous fund, as well as for their new fund. 

Now is the time that we should convince them to invest in Oakland. Yes, bring their job-producing businesses right here to Downtown Oakland.  This is a golden opportunity that should not be wasted.

Yes, it will take hard work to convince businesses to come to Oakland. We must solve our horrendous crime problem and improve our schools. But we have a lot to offer. We have to have dedicated political leadership that understands that job-producing businesses must be recruited to come to Oakland. 

We can no longer rank 76th out of the top 100 new venture capital deals in the Bay Area.  We are the third largest Bay area city, but at the bottom quarter of investment. So, now is the time Oakland must actively recruit new job producing businesses to come here. They are accumulating capital, looking for places to locate to, and we should be available. Do not let this opportunity slip by, because once the economy improves, there will other opportunities available and Oakland will lose out again. So, it’s up to you to ensure that our political leaders do their jobs to recruit more jobs for Oakland. Hold them responsible. Participate and vote.

Clinton Killian is an attorney in downtown Oakland, an Oakland resident and a former Oakland Planning Commissioner. He can be reached at: (510) 625-8823 or email: clintonkillian@yahoo.com.