The Oakland Athletics have reached a tentative deal to sell its ownership stake in the Coliseum, paving the way for the ballpark to be redeveloped into a sports and entertainment complex as the MLB team relocates to Las Vegas.
The A’s will sell its 50% share of the 112-acre site to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group for $125 million, the team said in a Monday statement. The local investment and development group struck an agreement last month to buy the city of Oakland’s half share in the stadium for $105 million.
The A’s, currently in its last season in Oakland, are expected to move into a new $1.5 billion stadium in Las Vegas in 2028. The Tropicana Las Vegas hotel will be demolished to make way for the facility.
In Oakland, AASEG intends to repurpose the complex that first opened in 1962 into a $5 billion project with new sports facilities, entertainment venues, retail stores and housing, according to previous reporting by CoStar News. Further details of the potential project are not yet known.
“AASEG has a community-oriented vision for the long-term development of the site and will be strong stewards of the property,” said A’s President Dave Kaval in the statement. “Their leadership and development provide substantial opportunities and benefits for East Oakland and the broader Oakland community.”
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors still must approve the sale of the A's stake in the stadium to AASEG, according to the statement.
Sports Redevelopments
Oakland-based AASEG is the latest developer hopping on the trend of sports-anchored entertainment developments, with like-minded projects taking place in California, Nevada, Tennessee and Florida.
Other redevelopments include transforming nearly 100 acres surrounding the Honda Center — a city-owned hockey arena in Anaheim, California — into a sprawling mixed-use hub slated to include nearly 2,000 residential units, offices and other commercial uses.
In Tennessee, Nashville officials earlier this year submitted a proposed agreement for a $1.6 billion mixed-use development next to the Tennessee Titans’ new football stadium, now under construction. In Florida, the Tampa Bay Rays in September announced plans to build a new stadium as part of a sweeping development project that incorporates apartments, offices and commercial space.
The A's themselves pitched turning portions of the Port of Oakland into a mixed-use project centered around a 30,000-seat stadium. Plans were called off after the relocation to Las Vegas was announced.
Oakland’s commercial real estate market is facing record occupancy losses as businesses left the city’s downtown area in droves during the COVID-19 pandemic. The office sector is posting an 15% vacancy rate, a 25-year high, according to CoStar data.
The East Bay’s retail sector is faring better with a 6% vacancy rate, though that figure is more than double pre-pandemic levels.