Special Concurrent Meeting on Second Amendment to Coliseum Complex Sale Agreement - July 13, 2026
Special Concurrent Meeting on Second Amendment to Coliseum Complex Sale Agreement - July 13, 2026
The Oakland Redevelopment Successor Agency/City Council held a special concurrent meeting on July 13, 2026, to consider and vote on a second amendment to the sale of the City of Oakland's 50% undivided interest in the Coliseum Complex. The meeting began at 10:37 AM and adjourned at 12:18 PM. Council President Kevin Jenkins presided initially, later relinquishing the chair to Councilmember Janani Ramachandran.
Public Comments & Testimony
- 14 speakers addressed the Council on the Coliseum sale item, and 3 speakers spoke during Open Forum.
- Supporting voices: Several speakers expressed strong support, including members of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) and community advocates. Ray Bobbitt (AASEG) thanked the city negotiating team and highlighted the historic opportunity for black-led development. John Jones III urged approval, noting that prior to AASEG, no one was interested in the Coliseum. Lynn Turner called the deal historic for giving black leadership a seat at the table. Paul Cobb recalled earlier efforts and praised AASEG for buying the Coliseum rather than being a minority subcontractor. Doug Blackshire stressed the national significance of the deal.
- Concerns raised: Multiple speakers from the Oakland United coalition (Damien Scott, Delilah Aviles, Vanessa Riles) emphasized the need for a robust community benefits agreement (CBA) that includes community-driven negotiations, especially given that the arena parcel is sold to a private owner without the same affordable housing and community benefit requirements as the stadium parcel. They requested that the arena also be subject to community benefits and that a third-party facilitator be involved. Kathy Eberhardt urged robust community engagement. Damian Rainey questioned why the city is selling an irreplaceable civic asset, whether the operating losses would persist, and why the city is redirecting the operating subsidy to the buyer after closing.
- Discrepancy note: The meeting minutes state that Councilmember Carroll Fife was excused and did not vote, but the transcript shows she was present (roll call modified at 10:38 AM) and voted “Aye” on the motion. This discrepancy is noted.
Discussion Items
- Second Amendment to Coliseum Complex Sale Agreement (Item 26-0905): City staff (Brendan Moriarty, Director of Real Estate; Bradley Johnson, Finance Director) presented the proposed amendment to sell the city's 50% undivided interest in the Coliseum Complex (112 acres, including the arena and stadium parcels) to Oakland Acquisition Company (OAC), a joint venture of AASEG and Loop Capital. Key terms:
- Arena parcel: Sold for $50 million lump sum at closing (expected by January 30, 2027, target September 2026). OAC will then transfer title to the Oakview Group.
- Stadium parcel: Sold for $60 million via seller financing (installment payments with interest at 5%, title transfers early). Three equal payments tied to development approvals due at years 5, 6, and 7 post-closing.
- Revenue sharing: City receives 6% of annual gross ticket sales from events at the arena, stadium, and any future entertainment venues, with no end date (estimated $3 million annually initially).
- Affordable housing: At least 25% of any residential units developed on the stadium parcel must be affordable housing.
- Community benefits: The city and OAC will negotiate broader benefits (local hiring, workforce training, labor standards, etc.) for the stadium parcel. The arena parcel is not subject to these.
- City subsidy savings: The city currently spends ~$6 million annually on operations; the deal ends this subsidy after January 2027, saving half of the budgeted $6 million for FY 2026-27.
- Security: The city holds a deed of trust on the stadium parcel (can foreclose), requires OAC to maintain minimum corporate value, and requires a third-party guarantee or payment bond by January 1, 2027 (penalties for delay).
- Use of proceeds: The $50 million from the arena sale was originally proposed to pay down CalPERS pension liability, but a friendly amendment removed that provision from the ordinance; it will be handled via a separate resolution on July 21.
- Councilmember comments: Most councilmembers expressed strong support. Council President Jenkins noted the end of the $6 million annual subsidy and the responsible use of one-time funds for pension liability. Councilmember Brown highlighted the 6% ticket revenue sharing and the community benefits commitments. Councilmember Houston emphasized the long-standing community engagement by AEG (previous operator) and secured assurances from arena buyer Mr. Irving for continued scholarships and programs. Councilmember Fife supported the deal but advocated for using ticket surcharge revenue to fund arts and culture citywide. Councilmember Unger and Wong raised questions about risk, interest rate (5% vs. commercial), and foreclosure mechanisms; staff clarified the city is not lending money and multiple guarantees protect the city. Councilmember Gallo was the sole opponent, questioning the appraisal and whether the county and Joint Powers Authority had approved, and expressing skepticism about the process.
Key Outcomes
- Motion introduced by Councilmember Ken Houston, seconded by Councilmember Carroll Fife, to adopt the ordinance as amended (removing the CalPERS appropriation section).
- Vote: 6 in favor (Ramachandran, Unger, Jenkins, Houston, Brown, Wang), 1 opposed (Gallo). The minutes list Councilmember Fife as excused, but the transcript shows she voted “Aye.” The motion carried for introduction.
- Final passage: The ordinance will go before the full council for a second reading on July 21, 2026.
- Friendly amendment: Approved unanimously to delete Section 3 of the ordinance (which directed the $50 million lump sum payment to CalPERS) and move that provision to a separate resolution on July 21.
- Next steps: City staff to continue coordinating with Alameda County (which approved a non-binding term sheet on May 28, 2026) and to finalize the third-party guarantee. Closing targeted for September 2026 but no later than January 30, 2027.
Open Forum
Three speakers addressed non-agenda items, including questions about health issues related to the Oakland A’s stadium proposal and the importance of retaining civic assets. The mayor and OAC representative Irving briefly thanked the council and reaffirmed their commitment.
Meeting Transcript
Half of the Holy Holm Good morning, everybody. And welcome to the special city council meeting of Monday, July 13th. Before I call roll, I will give speaker card instructions. If you would like to fill out a speaker's card on any item, please fill out a speaker's card before the item is called for discussion, or two hours after the start of this meeting, whichever comes first. The speaker cards are on the table in front of me. If you were looking to turn an online speaker card, they were due 24 hours before the start of this meeting. This meeting was called to order at ten thirty-seven. So you will have until twelve thirty-seven to submit your speaker card, or until when the item is called, whichever comes first. Council Member Guilla. Councilmember Houston. Sorry, Council Member Ramachandran. Council Member Unger. Council Member Wong. Showing seven members present, one excused. Last chance to turn into speaker cards before I call it if you haven't done so. Adopt an ordinance authorizing the city administrator to amend the purchase and sale agreement of the City of Oakland's undivided 50% interest in the Coliseum Complex located at 7,000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, California, to allow the simultaneous sale of the arena parcel for the lump sum payment of 50 million dollars and the stadium parcel for 60 million with seller financing from the city, crediting the 5 million deposit held by the city prior to the sale, authorizing the administrator to negotiate and execute an agreement pursuant which the buyers agree to pay to the city six percent of the annual gross ticket sales for any event at the arena parcel and the stadium parcel less applicable taxes. Affordable housing and other benefits to solely the sale of the city's interest in the stadium parcel. Authorizing the city administrator to facilitate closing prior to December 31st, 2026, and redirecting the buyer of the stadium parcel, a portion of the pro rata share of the city's annual subsidy of the stadium parcel based on a per day amount of sixteen thousand four hundred and thirty eight dollars and thirty-six cents. Limited to the period between the stadium parcel closing December 31st and adopting appropriate SQL findings. You have 21 speakers on this item. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So the administration is pleased to submit for council's consideration a term sheet between the City of Oakland and Oakland Acquisition Company for a second amendment to the sale of the city's 50% undivided interest in the Coliseum Complex. The proposal adds improved financial terms for the city and mitigates potential risk. It's been a long journey to this point, and I really want to thank the negotiating teams from our finance department and economic workforce and development department. I also really want to thank the mayor and the city council for their leadership through this amendment process. A few of the major highlights that we're pleased to share. One, the second amendment preserves the originally negotiated price for the Coliseum Complex, and that's $125 million in total. The improved deal structure protects the city's coffers and eliminates ongoing subsidies that have cost the general fund every year. And finally, the deal for the Coliseum parcel aligns the payment structure with redevelopment of the site. I know we all want to see community-centered redevelopment happen at this incredibly important parcel in East Oakland. And our team has worked to hone a proposal that we believe will help. So with that, I am going to ask our staff, Brendan Moriarty, to come and present. Thank you. Good morning, City Council, members of the public. My name is Brendan Moriari, I'm director of real estate and special projects within the Economic and Workforce Development Department. I'm speaking for staff on behalf of the negotiating team, which includes Bradley Johnson, our director of finance, Ashley Cannett, our Director of Economic and Workforce Development, Kelly Con, the Assistant Director for Economic Workforce Development, and Deborah Edgerly, former city administrator and a new in the city administrator's office. And then also Joanne Donick from the city attorney's office. She's on Zoom and available. Okay, we can go ahead with the presentation here. Um the Coliseum Complex, the subject of the transaction is the area in blue here. This is a hundred and twelve acre property that includes the Oakland Coliseum in the Oakland arena, as well as all the surface parking around it. It does not include a variety of city owned properties and one city county jointly owned property in the surrounding neighborhood. Those are those purple parcels, so not inclusive of that. But the dark shaded blue area, 112 acres. The arena parcel is about a nine-acre parcel that includes the arena, of course, and not much else. The uh stadium parcel, as we refer to it as everything else. So that's the 103 acres Oakland Coliseum plus parking areas. Um you can just see the two separate parcels here.
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