Sale of Oakland Coliseum nears completion

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors marked the end of an era yesterday (Tuesday) when it voted unanimously to move forward with the sale of the city of Oakland’s 50 percent ownership share of the Oakland Coliseum.

The deal is with a private developer, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, or AASEG. The sale isn't quite complete, and it’s been anything but straightforward. Over the past six years, its included two potential buyers, three sales, a lawsuit.

Until last year, the Oakland Coliseum was jointly owned by the City of Oakland and the Oakland A’s baseball team.

Last summer, the A’s agreed to sell their stake in the Coliseum to AASEG for $125 million.

The city also wanted to sell to AASEG, but that deal needed approval from the county Board of Supervisors.

The Supervisors, however, held up the sale for about five months while they continued to negotiate with AASEG over the details.

One of those conditions includes the requirement that AASEG, and any subsequent owners, release the county from liability for any possible hazardous waste clean-up at the Coliseum site.

The agreement also requires the end to a pending lawsuit brought by an environmental group, Communities for a Better Environment.

The local group is challenging the county's initial sale to the A's over state rules that require local authorities to prioritize affordable housing on surplus public land.

Ray Bobbitt, the founder and managing member of AASEG, said yesterday (Tuesday) he has been in regular contact with the environmental group. He added that he believes the lawsuit will be dropped, because AASEG's plans for the Coliseum site include both market rate and affordable housing components. 

The county and AASEG now have 30 days to wrap up any remaining details of the three-party sale.