Port of Oakland Picks Development Team for Howard Terminal

The Port of Oakland has chosen a local soccer team and Los Angeles-based industrial developer to reimagine the Howard Terminal site.

The port chose proposals from Oakland Roots Sports Club and Industrial Realty Group to transform the Howard Terminal location, the San Francisco Business Times reported. Port officials will soon begin hammering out an exclusive negotiating agreement with the entities and have already closed a request for proposals.

Oakland Roots SC and Industrial Realty were two of nearly a dozen firms that bid to redevelop the 55-acre waterfront property. The port began fielding ideas for redevelopment in 2024 after the Athletics departed Oakland.

Part of the Oakland Roots’ plan involves the construction of a soccer stadium for the Roots and Soul soccer teams. Industrial Realty, meanwhile, is looking to support traditional commodity-based maritime operations, a source close to the matter told the Business Times, though plans are not clear.

The Roots are making the “next steps toward negotiating an exclusive negotiation agreement to explore redevelopment opportunities at Howard Terminal for a stadium for Oakland Roots and Soul SC,” Lydia Tan, chief real estate officer for the Roots, said in a statement to the Business Times. “This would be an important step in evaluating a long-term home for the club, subject to further discussions and approvals.”

In October, the port tacked on an addendum to its request for proposals that specified different uses for various portions of the 55-acre site. The westernmost 36 acres would be set aside for industrial uses, while 14 acres to the east would be allocated for commercial development; designated uses for the remaining 5 acres aren’t clear. The different requested uses allows the port to consider two projects on opposite sides of the site, as floated by the Roots and Industrial Realty.

The Board of Port Commissioners has to sign off on the plans. The port was previously in a four-year exclusive negotiating agreement to build a new 35,000-seat stadium, thousands of residences and millions of square feet of commercial space and public amenities, but the agreement expired in 2023. Last year, the Roots submitted a proposal to build a 25,000-seat stadium at Howard Terminal, first starting with a temporary modular stadium while building a larger permanent one. The Roots have the option to use an already certified environmental review report prepared by the Athletics for their development at Howard Terminal, saving the team time and money in the development process.

— Chris Malone Méndez