Oakland Coliseum Sale’s New Deal Draws Council Members’ Ire Over Lack of Transparency

Some Oakland City Council members are accusing Mayor Sheng Thao of a lack of transparency around the sale of the Coliseum site, which the city is using to help close a budget deficit after her office revealed a higher purchase price and condensed payment schedule on Monday.

The African American Sports & Entertainment Group will now pay $125 million rather than the initially agreed price of $105 million to buy the city’s stake in the site, which the group plans to revitalize with housing, restaurants, a convention center and more.

Thao’s administration also confirmed the city received a $10 million payment from developers that several council members had accused them of missing last month, putting the city’s budget at risk.

Under the original deal signed at the end of July, an initial $5 million payment was meant to have been followed by $10 million in September, and the city’s budget included a contingency plan with drastic cuts triggered on Oct. 1 if that first $15 million had not come in.

The City Council convened Monday morning for what was meant to be a planned emergency meeting to discuss the status of the missed payment and the city’s contingency plans.

Though the meeting was canceled due to a lack of quorum, councilmembers Treva Reid, Janani Ramachandran and Noel Gallo stayed on to voice anger and frustration that the amended deal did not come before the council for approval.

“This process has been layered with deception, delay, silence, manipulation, withholding and inequitable disclosing of details to all council members,” Reid said, “and unfortunately, bully tactics.”

“Council doesn’t have a lot of powers when it comes to deals like this, but we do have the power to approve contracts with this much money at stake, with this much political capital and the money of taxpayers and our residents here at stake,” Ramachandran said.

She called the city’s approach to the dealings a “potentially ridiculous risk” to its finances that could have meant drastic cuts to police academies and fire, brownouts, and a halting of contracts, among other things.

“That’s the role and responsibility of the City Council to balance, to make sure that we do not go bankrupt like other governments have,” added Gallo.

Under the revised sale agreement announced Monday, the rest of the money — $110 million — must arrive within the current fiscal year. The full balance is now due in May instead of in 2026.

Thao called the deal a “win-win.”

“We are very grateful for the hard work of the City team in helping reach our amended agreement,” AASEG founder and managing member Ray Bobbitt said in a statement. “The creation of jobs, housing, art, clean green space and a new generation of Sports and Entertainment at the Coliseum Site cannot wait; and will provide a certain pathway to the revitalization of East Oakland through massive investment.”

The mayor’s office said it’s still waiting for Alameda County to approve the sale of its half of the Coliseum ownership stake, which has taken longer than expected. County officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.