There is what is called a full-blown dispute between Oakland Roots Soccer and the African American Sports and Entertainment Group aka AASEG. The unfolding behind-the-scenes skermish is one that could be settled over dinner provided by Oakland’s Horn Barbecue, (which can use the business in the wake of vandalism and racist media attacks), but at this point, neither party has demonstrated a desire to solve the problem that way.
The problem is that it looks like Oakland Roots Soccer may have violated its agreement with AASEG. That possibility was revealed during the recent November Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Meeting.
At that event, AASEG was never mentioned by Oakland Roots President Lindsay Barenz as a point of contact in her open forum Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Meeting statement of November 20th, 2023 that called for Oakland Roots to be an anchor tenant at the Oakland Coliseum. Here’s the video from that meeting:
AASEG had anticipated that the Oakland Roots would use or want to use the Malibu Lot; no contact was made by Oakland Roots to involve AASEG in the matter.
The problem that Roots President Lindsay Barenz pointed to in her open forum statement involved what it would take from a cost perspective to prepare the Malibu Site for use in accordance with the Roots’ needs.
In turn, the sea level rise drainage problem that the author told the Oakland Roots President and Lydia Tan, the Roots Director of Real Estate, about (and is on video here from the February 2023 Coliseum JPA Meeting), is here at this link.
At the time, when this author advocated for the Roots to be in the Coliseum in an off-camera discussion with the Oakland Roots minders, they were determined not to be in the Coliseum and believed the Malibu Site could work – against this author’s warning. It took City of Oakland Staff telling the Oakland Roots minders the same thing nine months later, and only then did Ms. Barenz shifted gears toward the idea of being in the Coliseum Stadium.
This author must also add that a full-blown environmental impact report is necessary because of the traffic and use impacts a development drawing 10,000 people would cause. City Staff should have told them that, as well.
Another Example Of Oakland Coliseum JPA Dysfunction
The entire story is yet another example of the dysfunctional operation of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum JPA without a sports commission component. A sports commission would have an overall land use plan for the Coliseum and then be able to organize what AASEG wants to do with what the Oakland Roots need, and organize them in such a way that the Coliseum does not have conflicting ENAs.
Indeed, the original Oakland Coliseum Organization ran by its President Bob Quintella and his Vice President Bill DeCarlo has a giant map that showed expected Coliseum site development five-to-ten-years into the future. This author (who was Economic Advisor to Elihu Harris in 1996 to 1999) was given a tour of the Coliseum Office by Mr. Quintella early in February of 1996. The Coliseum Land Use Map was on full display, covered with push pins and post-it notes, as one entered the office located under the Oakland Arena. Today, there’s no such map.
The Oakland Roots – AASEG Agreement Has To Be Rewritten
This author said Oakland Roots ENA should be subordinate to AASEG’s and not in competition with it. The Coliseum JPA acted as if it had a better perspective. But the real problem is that the entire matter of how the Oakland Roots came to be in the focus of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum must be in question.
Rather than a formal process for accepting a new sports organization to play at the Coliseum, with the appropriate evaluation checklist of needs, resources, market evaluation, JPA and City and County fiscal capabilities, and expected return-on-investment, entry as an active sports team in Oakland is as simple and as complicated as the political connections of the sports organization’s founders.
In the case of The Oakland Roots, its entry into consideration to play in our just outside of the Oakland Coliseum, started with an an informal meeting with Oakland Councilmember Treva Reid three years ago.
The same politically-based way of bringing in sports organizations is also what caused the effort to bring the WNBA to Oakland, and that also failed, and in a way that was ultimately embarrassing to the AASEG.
In order to realize a string of successful efforts to grow the sports and events industry in Oakland, a formal process is needed. But, at present, even though the Coliseum JPA appears serious in looking at forming an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, that effort also looks like one that could be hijacked by Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao.
Mayor Thao’s long enquired about a “City-wide” EIFD, and at the last Coliseum JPA Meeting, there was indication the JPA’s own EIFD would be turned into that “City-wide” EIFD effort. If that happens, that attempt, also, will fail under Oakland’s habit of over-politicization, where someone (generally an Oakland City Council member or the head of a community group, or both) has to try and ‘trip up’ an effort basically because it’s not their own.
Stay tuned.