The agency that runs the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum has approved new leases for the Oakland A's and Oakland Raiders. The Coliseum Authority approved a one-year lease extension for the Raiders and a two-year extension for the A's.
Rebecca Kaplan, an at-large member of the Oakland City Council and a member of the Coliseum Authority board, said the new agreement will give the city time to proceed with its ambitious long-range plan for the Coliseum site. That plan, called Coliseum City, would consist of new stadiums for both the A's and Raiders and a new arena for the Golden State Warriors. The multibillion-dollar proposal also calls for development of new office and retails space and 6,000 units of housing ion more than a square mile adjacent to the Coliseum property.
"Now we're going to begin the work of negotiating for the long term which is the redevelopment of this whole site, new sports facilities, shops, bars, restaurants, and hotels, and an opportunity to expand jobs as well as the fan experience on the site," Kaplan said after this morning's vote.
Oakland officials are hoping the Coliseum City project can prevent the departure of all three of the city's major league professional sports franchises. The A's are trying to move to San Jose, the Raiders say they're looking for a stadium site elsewhere in Alameda County, and the Warriors want to build a massive new arena on the San Francisco waterfront.
One sign of the less-than-cordial relationship between the Coliseum and the A's is a provision in today's agreement labeled "Future Cooperation":
The parties agree to cooperate in the execution of provisions of the License, including at least annual meetings of the principals to discuss related matters and the agreement to refrain from knowingly making inaccurate or factually unfounded statements about the condition of the Stadium.
The A's have complained repeatedly about the condition of the 46-year-old Coliseum. The derision went national when the sewage backed up into both the home and visitors clubhouses on two occasions during the 2013 season.