Coliseum sale complete, erasing need for deep cuts to police and fire departments

Oakland has officially sold its stake in the Coliseum, setting aside concerns that the city’s adopted budget relied too heavily on a deal that had not yet gone through.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Mayor Sheng Thao, City Administrator Jestin Johnson and Ray Bobbitt, managing partner of African American Sports and Entertainment Group, signed an agreement that would finalize the $105 million sale. The deal, which was announced in May, will likely allow the city to scrap a contingency budget plan that would have meant deep cuts to the police and fire departments.

After prolonged deliberations, a divided City Council passed a budget earlier this month that relies on $63 million from the Coliseum land deal. At the time, Councilmembers Janani Ramachandran, Treva Reid and Noel Gallo dissented, expressing concerns about the lack of a final agreement with AASEG. 

Now the city and developer have agreed on a term sheet for payments that will begin immediately.

Thao praised the council majority that passed the budget.

“They took a risk, yes.  However, they took the financially responsible route to ensure that we did not cut public safety,” she said.

The sale marks the end of an era, with the loss of the Oakland A’s, which along with the former Oakland Raiders, played for decades in the Coliseum. The A’s, the city’s last remaining major league sports team, are completing their final season at the storied stadium this year. 

AASEG, a development group whose leadership is composed of native Oaklanders, plans to develop the site in a way that will revitalize the East Oakland neighborhood without displacing those who are already there. 

In 2019, the A’s bought Alameda County’s half of the Coliseum for $85 million. Team officials have not made clear whether they plan to sell their half of the Coliseum to AASEG. Bobbitt has said they are in negotiations with the A’s.

New era of baseball in Oakland — move over A’s, here come the B’s