City of Oakland SELLS Athletics' stadium to an African-American real estate development group for $105M

With the Oakland Athletics preparing for a temporary move to Sacramento en route to a permanent home in Las Vegas, the Bay Area city has decided to sell its share of the Coliseum to a local African-American development group.

The sale will generate at least $105 million for Oakland, Mayor Sheng Thao announced Wednesday.

The sale is not surprising after the A's announced last month that the Major League Baseball team will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento until its ballpark is built in its new home of Las Vegas. Fans are trying to enjoy the team's final year in the city of 400,000.

The property houses the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Oakland Arena, once home to the Oakland Raiders and Golden State Warriors, respectively. The NFL's Raiders moved to Las Vegas and the NBA's Warriors left for San Francisco in recent years, leaving professional sports fans in the East Bay Area desolate.

The money will help fill shortfalls in the city's budget, but city officials also say the sale to the African American Sports & Entertainment Group paves the way for a proposed sports and entertainment destination site, thousands of new affordable housing units and community benefits for historically neglected East Oakland.

'This agreement puts us on a path towards a more equitable and resilient Oakland,' Thao said in a news release.

The AASEG also hopes to bring a black-owned NFL team to Oakland, as the group explains on its website. 

'One of our most talked about 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,' read the description on the website. 'The development will serve as the catalyst for the implementation of the Coliseum Site Specific Plan.'

The Oakland A's purchased the county's half of the site in 2019 for $85 million and is still paying it off. The sports and entertainment group reached out to the A's to purchase their share but the team was not interested in selling.

The purchasing group was founded in 2020 with the primary purpose of using sports and entertainment 'to create a path for enhanced economic equity for the Black community.'

The Oakland City Council now needs to pass an ordinance authorizing the city administrator to sign a purchase and sale agreement with the group.

The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time.

Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé, who also owns the minor league River Cats, said the region has the potential to become a 'mecca for sports.'

'We have an incredible community and a passionate fan base — the best fans in the world,' Ranadivé said. 'Today's announcement marks the next chapter of professional sports in Sacramento.'

Ranadivé joined A's owner John Fisher and local officials to announce the news at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, where the A's will play for the next three seasons. The stadium is right across from the historic yellow Tower Bridge that connects the city with downtown Sacramento.

It is in an area where new restaurants, bars and apartment complexes have opened up in recent years and is about a mile from the state Capitol and the NBA arena where the Sacramento Kings play. The stadium has 10,624 fixed seats and can currently hold 14,014 fans with lawn seating and standing room.

Ranadivé hopes the move is a step toward the Sacramento region eventually hosting a permanent MLB team.

Fisher said West Sacramento was among several locations, including the Oakland Coliseum, considered for the team's temporary home.

'Even with the long-standing relationship and good intentions on all sides in the negotiations with Oakland, the conditions to achieve an agreement seemed out of reach,' he said in a statement, adding that he understands the move will disappoint many fans.

Thao said in a statement last month that the city 'offered a deal that was fair to the A's and was fiscally responsible for our city.'

Paul Freedman, co-founder of the Oakland Ballers, called the news of the move heart-breaking but said he is proud that fans will still be able to root for the newly-formed minor league team.

'Today is a tough day, but you can't be beaten if you never give up,' Freedman said in a statement. 'Let's build something great together.'

The A's announced their intention last April to move to Las Vegas, and MLB owners unanimously approved the application to relocate in November.

The team is baseball's most transient. Las Vegas will be the fifth home for a franchise that started as the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901-54, then played in Kansas City through 1967 before moving to Oakland.

The decision angered the fans in Oakland and the team's previously low attendance dropped precipitously with the club drawing a league-low 832,352 fans to the outdated Coliseum last season. The A's drew 13,522 fans on opening night this year with a few thousand others protesting Fisher in the parking lot, and failed to reach 7,000 fans in any of the next six games.

The A's did enjoy some brief success this year, but now sit at 20-30 after dropping eight of their last 10 entering Wednesday.