Black-led group of investors has big plans to redevelop Oakland Coliseum site
OAKLAND -- The next chapter for the Oakland Coliseum is beginning to take shape, with a new landmark agreement in place. The city is now negotiating for the redevelopment of the site, and possibly with a new sports team.
"This is something that has been a long time coming," said Ray Bobbitt of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group. "With respect to the city council making a unanimous decision to allow an African-American man organization to engage in a project of this magnitude."
For the Oakland Coliseum complex, the future is Black owned. AASEG is now in an exclusive negotiating agreement with Oakland, in what is said to be the largest transfer of public land to a Black-led group in the city's 171-year history.
"It has never come easy for Black people," Councilmember Treva Reid said at the announcement. "And it certainly has not been easy for black developers to build on this land. So this is a milestone."
"And we're starting from the bottom to the top," said AASEG's Samantha Wise. "So the community is gonna buy into this project. The city officials are going to support it. People in East Oakland are going to rally around this project, and I'm super excited about it."
At 120 acres, it would be a multi-billion dollar redevelopment project and the city says the focus is keeping it all local.
"To actually create between 20 to 30,000 new good paying jobs," said Mayor Sheng Thao.
As for what gets built, there's talk of a convention center, affordable housing, hotels, restaurants, an amphitheater, or whatever the neighborhood decides it wants.
"We talked about, you know, the things that we can envision with the community at the table, and what they'd like to see," Reid explained. "Things like a grocery store, a film development company coming up out of here, we even talked about a farm, or some type of opportunity to cultivate, or manufacture."
Another possible addition would be a WNBA team for the arena, that push is underway. All of this is separate from whatever happens with the A's. Their lease expires after the 2024 season. If their future does include Oakland, it will not be in the Coliseum.