By Scott Morris
Bay City News
The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority finalized its approval Wednesday of an agreement to extend the Oakland A's lease at the O.co Coliseum for the next decade.
The panel, made up of representatives from Oakland and Alameda County, unanimously approved the agreement, bringing a 15-month negotiating process to a close to keep the A's in Oakland.
The JPA approved an earlier version of the agreement on July 3 but it underwent minor changes when the Oakland City Council approved it two weeks later. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors then approved the updated version of the deal last week.
The agreement includes an escape clause that allows the A's to leave the Coliseum after the 2018 Major League Baseball season. However, they would still have to pay rent until the end of the agreement in 2024 unless they moved to another site in Oakland.