Oakland A's sell their half of the Coliseum for $125M
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland A's have agreed to sell their interest in the Coliseum site to the African American Sports and Entertainment group, the same group that recently bought the City of Oakland's half. It's a deal, but it has an enormous way to go.
The African American Sports and Entertainment Group agreed to pay the A's $125 million for the other half of the Coliseum property. That's $20 million more than Oakland got for its half.
In a statement, AASEG Managing Member Ray Bobbitt said, "As Oakland natives who grew up merely blocks away from the Coliseum, and as long time Oakland business owners, we are filled with gratitude for this opportunity to assume stewardship of the Coliseum site."
Folks we met in Oakland on Monday seemed ambivalent. "They might as well take the money now because they don't seem able to figure out a way to make money out of it and maybe these guys will," said Darrell Anderson of Oakland. "I don't think that's gonna fix the crime around here. It might attract more people, but also more theft. You know, I think there are other things to focus on," said Droid Gallucci of Oakland.
A general view of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. The stadium is the home of the Oakland Athletics and the Oakland Raiders from 1966-81 and 1995-2019. The arena served as the home of the Golden
Executive sports consultant and entrepreneur Andy Dolich was a high-ranking executive with the Oakland A's for 14 years under the Haas family and said, "Now comes the hard part. Where's your money. What's the time frame. What's real?"
He put the purchase price in perspective. "This is just an ante in terms of looking at a card game. It seems like a lot of money; not really when you're talking, at least on paper, in statements that I've read, a $5 billion development," said Dolich.
Chris Dobbins is a former member of the Coliseum Authority board and is a member of SOS, Save Oakland Sports. Dobbins says he knows and likes the buying group's people but says they've bought into a difficult effort. "I don't know them as developers. I don't know them as builders. Hopefully, they can get this together. Hopefully they can get the financing together. So, we're interested to see," said Dobbins.
Dobbin's biggest worry is the A's in Sacramento and the stadium dynamics in Vegas. "My concern is that the A's don't go to Vegas. They stay in Sacramento and now we have two teams in Northern California. Therefore, Major League Baseball is not gonna put a new team there. If they're gonna move, have them move to Vegas so that would open up a spot to have us in there," said Dobbins. " Northern California is an incredible sports magnet. So, a little bit of imagination goes a long way in terms of what the Coliseum could be," said Dolich
An example of that is right across the Bay in China Basin, once a forlorn district that sports and medicine has transformed into a crown jewel.
Mayor Sheng Thao released the following statement following this latest development:
"This is another incredibly exciting day. When we agreed on our terms with AASEG for the City’s half of the Coliseum site, we knew this was right around the corner. Having one entity control the entire Coliseum site will fast track much-needed and deeply deserved development in East Oakland. I applaud the A’s for doing the right thing and coming to their own terms with AASEG for the County’s half of the land. Again, this isn’t a short-term solution. This is a multi-billion-dollar development that is going to deliver affordable housing, jobs, business opportunities, community benefits and tax revenue for decades to come."