Alameda County Agrees to Talks Over Sale of Oakland Coliseum

It has taken five months for Alameda County officials to agree to final talks with the African American Sports and Entertainment Group over the sale of the Oakland Coliseum.

The county Board of Supervisors voted to enter into a 30-day negotiation period with the Sacramento-based developer to buy the county’s share of the Coliseum complex at 7000 South Coliseum Way, in East Oakland, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The 112-acre complex includes the stadium, the Arena, administrative offices and acres of parking, where AASEG has proposed a $5 billion redevelopment project.

The Black-led developer had already struck a deal with the then-Oakland A’s, who were in the process of buying the county’s share. For the deal to get done, Alameda needed to lend its approval.

“This is a critical step for us as a board to make to show publicly we are committed to closing the Coliseum deal,” newly seated Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, who previously served as Oakland’s City Council president, told the Chronicle.

In July, AASEG agreed to buy the city’s share of the Coliseum property for $105 million. A month later, the firm bought the Oakland A’s half for $125 million.

The county, part owner of the Coliseum complex until it agreed to sell its 50 percent share to the A’s in 2019, needed to approve the A’s sale of the Coliseum before the city’s sale could move forward, according to Oakland officials.

The A’s were paying the county in installments and their payments have gone into an escrow account, but the team never assumed ownership of the site, according to the Chronicle.

Ray Bobbitt, a founding partner of AASEG, said the county’s vote adds certainty to the deal.

“That’s really exciting because it really will serve as the vehicle to move the sale forward,” Bobbitt said. “It feels like everybody involved in the transaction is on the same page and wants to make it happen.”

AASEG now has 30 days to reach terms with the county on the sale. One hurdle is getting the county to release the A’s, who have relocated to West Sacramento as part of a plan to move to Las Vegas, from future obligations on the property. The county also wants AASEG to cover all environmental cleanup costs that may come during redevelopment of the site.

Once that agreement is reached, AASEG will pay another $10 million into Oakland’s escrow account. The financially embattled city can access funds from the sale when it closes at the end of May. Faced with a $130 million deficit, Oakland is slashing city services.

AASEG has proposed redeveloping the Oakland Coliseum with housing, hotels, a new convention center, a youth amphitheater, restaurants and museums. A city term sheet says 25 percent of homes built at the site must be affordable.

— Dana Bartholomew