Representatives from the ownership company that just took over the Oakland Coliseum rejoiced with city authorities on Tuesday at a press conference in the Coliseum’s parking lot, hours before one of the Oakland Athletics’ final home games at the venue.
The sale of the stadium and surrounding 155-acre complex necessitated separate agreements with the city of Oakland and the A’s for each entity to sell its half stake, casting doubt on the city’s budget this fall as it remained unclear whether the sale could be completed in time to avoid deep cuts in several areas, including the police and fire departments.
However, the Oakland Police Officers’ Association criticized the $105 million sale to developer African American Sports and Entertainment Group, or AASEG, and Loop Capital as a temporary fix for the city’s persistent financial problems.
The union said it was not critical of the buyers, but it opposed the city’s reliance on the sale to boost its budget this year rather than adopting fundamental changes that would ensure the city’s budget is stable in the short and long term.
“The Coliseum deal buys the city a few months of reprieve, and the one-time revenues will soon dissipate,” the police union’s president Huy Nguyen said in a statement Tuesday.
“Whoever controls municipal administration in the new year will confront the enormous task of keeping the city solvent when the bill for continuous fiscal mismanagement is due. “The OPOA continues to demand that the city hire experienced fiscal consultants to address the ongoing budget crisis,” Nguyen stated.
City leaders, including Mayor Sheng Thao and City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, joined AASEG founder and managing member Ray Bobbitt at the Coliseum for Tuesday’s press conference, saying that selling and developing the site will bring much-needed investment to the East Oakland community.
“This has been a journey,” Bobbitt explained. “It’s been a team effort.”
He said AASEG and city negotiators had been working around the clock to finalize the agreement.
Thao stated that the sale marked a significant investment in East Oakland and necessary action following extensive discussion regarding the area’s economic development.
“We demand to see a better, a stronger, a more prosperous Oakland, and these are the seeds that we are planting today,” Thao told reporters.
She dismissed the notion that the sale was a band-aid for the city’s problems, saying it demonstrated investors’ continued interest in the Oakland market.
“Many people believed institutional capital was leaving Oakland. “That’s not the case,” she stated.”
Kaplan also stated that the complex was one of the most promising for growth in the state due to its closeness to several forms of transportation.
“This site is the most developable site in all of California,” Kaplan said, noting that environmental studies have already cleared the way for future construction.
Sacramento-based AASEG and its partners agreed to pay $105 million for the city’s piece of the site in late July, followed by $125 million for the A’s share in early August, utilizing Loop Capital financing.
The A’s want to move to the Sacramento River Cats’ minor league ballpark for at least three years, beginning in 2025, while plans for a new stadium in Las Vegas are developed. The team’s final home game in Oakland is September 26.
