Explaining the hold-up with the Oakland Coliseum sale
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – The redevelopment of the Oakland Coliseum site has promised to bring everything from world-class entertainment to new neighborhoods and affordable housing. But half of that deal has yet to close. The deal to turn over Alameda County’s share of the Coliseum property to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group is [...]
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – The redevelopment of the Oakland Coliseum site has promised to bring everything from world-class entertainment to new neighborhoods and affordable housing. But half of that deal has yet to close.
The deal to turn over Alameda County’s share of the Coliseum property to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group is still not complete.
“We’re urging the board of supervisors to help move forward the negotiation process so we can complete the transaction,” said Ray Bobbitt with AASEG.
Members of the group went before the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, encouraging them to sign off on the transfer of the county’s 50% share of the property from the A’s to AASEG.
They also want the county to sign off on an agreement to put on hold or dismiss a lawsuit brought by Citizens for a Better Environment, which had challenged the county’s initial sale of the property to the A’s. AASEG says these are both critical next steps.
“Once that occurs and that we have transaction on the city side and the county’s interest, then for the first time in 57 years, the site will have the approval to have ownership by one entity,” Bobbitt explained. “So we could actually go and engage the community in the East Bay region in such a way where we would be able to really start to look at what the site plan is going to look like.”
The delay in county action is also delaying a payment AASEG was scheduled to make to the City of Oakland for their half of the Coliseum. AASEG was required to deposit $10 million into the city’s escrow account by Nov. 7, but so far that has not been done.
AASEG says it doesn’t mean the deal is in jeopardy, it just means AASEG is waiting for the county’s pieces of the puzzle to fall into place first.
“We don’t feel like there’s going to be any pushback or complication. We believe that what will, materialize very quickly here is just the final pieces falling into place because it’s in everybody’s interest,” Bobbitt said.
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