Developer Purchases Half of Oakland A’s Stadium, Plans $5B Redevelopment
As the MLB's Oakland Athletics play their last season at Oakland Coliseum, a developer has purchased the city's stake in the stadium site, part of a $5B plan to redevelop the area for commercial and residential use.
African American Sports & Entertainment Group spent $105M to purchase half of the Coliseum site from the city of Oakland and is in negotiations with A’s ownership for the other half of the 112-acre property, according to BNN Bloomberg.
Once the developer purchases both parcels, it plans to roll out a suite of new venues, including sports facilities, entertainment options, a hotel and housing units, CoStar reported. At the beginning of next year's season through 2027, the A’s will play temporarily in Sacramento before moving to their new permanent home in Las Vegas by 2028.
“Oakland is committed to bringing new investments to our communities to help boost economic growth that includes strong community benefits, builds desperately needed affordable housing, and invests in local jobs for Oaklanders,” Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said in an official announcement, noting that the city wants the project to be a catalyst for change in historically underinvested areas.
The city will use the proceeds to help offset a budget deficit and avoid layoffs, BNN Bloomberg reported.
AASEG plans to keep the new mixed-use development sports-oriented, according to the outlet. It is working with the United Soccer League’s Oakland Roots on a potential stadium near the site. It has also pursued a WNBA franchise and is eyeing prospects for an NFL expansion team, according to Bloomberg.
The A’s contract for the current venue expires at the end of the season. After that, the club plans to play at a minor league field 86 miles north in West Sacramento until its new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip opens on the site where the Tropicana Hotel stands today.
The team’s owner, John Fisher, still controls the remaining half of the Oakland stadium site, which includes an indoor arena. But his $85M purchase of it from Alameda County is still being challenged in court, according to Sports Business Journal.
The A’s are not the first team to jump ship from Oakland in recent years.
The Golden State Warriors crossed the bay to San Francisco in 2019. Then, the NFL’s Raiders, which had returned to Oakland after an earlier exit, also left for a new home in Las Vegas in 2020.
The plans also come as another California stadium site undergoes a similar transformation. Nearly 100 acres surrounding the Anaheim, California, home of the NHL's Ducks, the Honda Center, is being developed into a mixed-use community and entertainment district.
AASEG's plan has the potential to boost Oakland's sagging office market, CoStar reported. Those properties are facing record occupancy losses after businesses departed Downtown Oakland amid the pandemic. Currently, the Oakland office sector is 18% vacant, a 25-year high, CoStar data shows.
