The terms of a deal to sell half of the Oakland Coliseum have changed, increasing the purchase price but allowing the buyer to take possession of the property sooner. The deal will also provide the city of Oakland with needed funds from the sale earlier than originally planned.
The city of Oakland passed an amendment approving a 14% increase in the African American Sports & Entertainment Group’s acquisition price for the city's share of the East Oakland site to $125M, according to a press release issued Monday by the city.
The second payment of $95M to the city is now due on May 30. The first payment of $10M has been received, the city confirmed Monday.
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Prior to the amendment, AASEG agreed to pay the city $105M, with $60M due by June 30, 2025, according to the press release.
The city’s amended agreement means AASEG can take possession of the site faster, AASEG said.
“We can start looking at things more clearly and do site planning,” founder and Managing Member Ray Bobbitt said.
City council members were intent upon receiving AASEG’s second round of funding that the city plans to utilize “to stave off $63M in potential cuts to its police and fire departments,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.
“Oakland has long-standing budgetary challenges,” Mayor Sheng Tao’s chief of communications, Casey Pratt, said in an email. “Selling our half of the Coliseum was a creative solution to address some of those challenges in the near-term and deliver long-term revenue from the multi-billion dollar development at the Coliseum.”
Pratt added that the Alameda County Board of Supervisors' “approval of the sale has taken longer than expected.”
AASEG bought the Oakland A’s share of the site in early August for $125M, lifting the total sale price for the 112-acre site to $250M.
But AASEG has persevered because of its ultimate mission to support the people of Oakland, Bobbitt said.
Founded in 2020, AASEG plans to use sports and entertainment to create a path for enhanced economic equity for the Black community, according to its website.
“One of our most anticipated ventures is the formation of the first majority Black owned NFL franchise here in Oakland, CA accompanied by a thriving sports, entertainment, educational and business district in East Oakland at the Coliseum Site,” the website says. “The development will serve as the catalyst for the implementation of the Coliseum Site Specific Plan.”
Bobbit and AASEG have proposed building a $5B entertainment and sports development with housing and commercial space.
While there would likely be a professional sports component to the new development, Bobbitt said AASEG would lean into the live concert and performances aspect of the arena to generate revenue, much like downtown Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena.
