Alameda is trying to get rid of its share of sports venues.
Alameda County, California wants to get out of the sports business and has been stating that it was time to go for a while. Alameda officials want to get out of the deal with Oakland in the ownership of the Coliseum and the arena in the city. They are negotiating an exit deal. The thought is let Oakland manage the property and decide what to do with the stadium and arena and parking lot. The sports complex is the host to a Major League Baseball team, a National Football League franchise and a National Basketball Association team. The complex opened in 1966 and is at the end of its lifespan. The Oakland A’s ownership wants to remain in the city and has offered to buy the Coliseum property. The NFL’s Raiders will play at the Coliseum for the next two seasons, then Mark Davis will take his business to Las Vegas. The Golden State Warriors NBA franchise is going across the bay to San Francisco after the 2018-19 season.
The city and county have an arena that has debt payments through 2026 with no anchor tenant after 2019. The stadium was rebuilt in 1996 to accommodate Al Davis and his Raiders and has a pile of debt. The debt issue was the make or break part of the Raiders-Oakland negotiation. Mark Davis and his attorneys did not want to pay the remaining Coliseum debt as part of an Oakland football stadium deal and then got a three quarters of a billion dollars’ worth of subsidies from Nevada to help fund a Las Vegas football stadium. There was no way Oakland could compete with Las Vegas and Nevada’s subsidies. Oakland A’s owners want a stadium closer to Oakland’s downtown but the Coliseum-Arena complex does have some positives. The Bay Area Rapid Transit has a stop in the area and there is a big parking lot for events. Alameda County wants out.
The NBA team is headed to San Francisco.
