The money was proposed in a bill from state Sen. Jesse Arreguin that was made public Saturday.
The 161-acre property was a racetrack from 1941 until it closed in 2024 amid a national economic downturn in horse racing.
The Trust for Public Land agreed to purchase the land earlier this year if it could raise the needed $175 million before the end of 2026.
The Berkeley Scanner reported Arreguin's bill would allocate funds from the state's Prop 4 climate bond that was passed in 2024. That proposition authorized issuing $10 billion in bonds to fund a range of climate resilience and safe drinking water projects.
The Trust for Public Land had about $20 million on hand when it entered into the purchase agreement. If approved, the new funding would complete the deal.
The Trust for Public Land then plans to donate the land — which is split between the city lines of Albany and Berkeley — to the East Bay Regional Park District.
The organization's proposal for the land includes a combination of recreation amenities and open space. The park would link other protected parkland and form a contiguous open space connecting to Albany Beach, McLaughlin Eastshore State Park, Point Isabel Regional Shoreline, Albany Bulb, and Brooks Island Regional Preserve.
