OAKLAND — A high-profile real estate deal in Oakland again appears to be hitting a snag because of stalled deliberations between Alameda County supervisors.
For the second time in a week, the county Board of Supervisors convened in private Tuesday to discuss whether to approve the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s purchase of the Oakland Coliseum complex, a 112-acre parcel that includes the ballpark, arena and surrounding parking lots.
Officials for AASEG had described the county’s sign-off as merely a formality in the multi-layered deal to acquire separate ownership shares — each worth $125 million — from the city of Oakland and the departing A’s baseball franchise.
But the supervisors took no action after lengthy closed-door talks last week, and another session Tuesday afternoon wrapped without resolution. Because the county’s sale to the A’s is still pending, it can’t be transferred to AASEG without the supervisors’ approval.
The uncertainty has already led to consequences: AASEG’s financial backers, the large Chicago-based investment firm Loop Capital, held off placing a required $10 million payment to the city into escrow last week while the county’s sign-off remains in limbo.
City leaders appear to be holding off on notifying AASEG of a default on the payment — a show of patience amid a financial crisis in Oakland, which likely needs $110 million from the Coliseum sale by next summer to avoid a doomsday scenario.
Ray Bobbitt, Founder of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, is photographed in front of the Oakland Arena before the MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
AASEG, meanwhile, declined to terminate the purchase itself by a Nov. 6 deadline for avoiding liability, which co-founder Ray Bobbitt says was never a consideration.
The group has already paid a nonrefundable $5 million to the city, and Loop Capital has signaled its commitment to buying the Coliseum, but the fight to recall Mayor Sheng Thao in the Nov. 5 election has often landed Bobbitt in Oakland’s toxic political crosshairs.
“We are urging the Board of Supervisors to help move forward the negotiation process so we can complete the transaction,” Bobbitt said Tuesday at the county board meeting, where he urged the supervisors to set a date for completing discussions.
The stakes are sky-high for Oakland, which for the third time in a year is seeing a property deal stalled because of awkward, often tense co-ownership arrangements between the city and Alameda County.
A long-planned sale of the old Raiders training facility in Alameda still has not been completed despite a buyer stepping forward in February, leading city officials to attempt to buy out the county’s ownership of the compound.
As with the Coliseum sale, the city is counting on important revenue — in this case, $12 million — to help resolve its critical budget woes.
The facility would continue to be leased to Oakland Roots SC, a popular local soccer franchise which has separately secured an agreement to play home games next year at the Coliseum — another deal that appears to …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
