Oakland hopes sale of portion of Coliseum will be catalyst for more investments

Oakland city officials are celebrating a win with the sale of the city's 50% stake in the Coliseum complex.

"Today is the start of a boom-loop here in Oakland! Let's do it!" said Oakland City Council president Nikki Fortunato Bas, at a signing ceremony at Oakland City Hall.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao signing the Terms of Agreement allows the city to sell its 50% ownership in the 112-acre Oakland Coliseum complex for $105 million. The city will get $63 million in several installments between now and January. The remaining $48 million will be paid by June 2026.

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"This is a vicious cycle. We are continuously looking at how we don't have enough resources. So this investment in the Coliseum is going to be felt decades from now," says Thao.

The deal pumps millions into a city facing a historic deficit. The funds were already included in the recently passed mid-cycle budget, and prevents massive cuts and layoffs.

"It falls in line with the Oakland budget. We worked with our finance team and the funds will be coming in where we can account for them immediately," says Thao.

It's being sold to the Oakland-based African American Sports & Entertainment group, or AASEG, headed by Ray Bobbitt.

"This is probably the largest development in Oakland's history," says Bobbitt.

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Its proposing a multibillion dollar project anchored by the Oakland Arena. It includes hotels, restaurants, businesses and affordable housing.

Bobbitt hopes it'll serve as a catalyst for more investment into East Oakland. And because the city already passed the Coliseum Specific Plan in 2015, it removes possible legal hurdles and red tape.

"That already comes with a CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), comes with an EIR (Environmental Impact Report), comes with so many elements of planning that are already cured. So it really can allow you to move quicker," explains Bobbitt.

Though the sale of the city's ownership is complete, AASEG still has to negotiate with the Oakland Athletics, who own the remaining 50% of the land. The A's bought its share from Alameda County, which still holds title. Bobbitt says he spoke to the A's Tuesday morning.

"We don't believe at this juncture, based on the positive negotiations we have going with the A's, that there will be an obstruction, whether we can reach an agreement or not," says Bobbitt.