What's happening with the Oakland Coliseum?
On April 4th, the Oakland Athletics officially announced that they are leaving Oakland after the 2024 baseball season ends. They did this amid ongoing lease extension negotiations with the City and County. This decision by the A’s billionaire owner, John Fisher, to abandon our community directly contradicts the spirit of collaboration and negotiations. The resulting loss of family-supporting union jobs at the Oakland Coliseum will wreak havoc on Oakland’s already vulnerable workforce. The loss of income from Coliseum usage will impact the City budget which is already facing a huge deficit and failing to provide needed services. Do you agree it’s wrong to sell a significant parcel of public land to a billionaire who continually proves that he prioritizes profit over people?
The A’s moving to Sacramento next season is disappointing news for Oaklanders and the team’s longtime fan base. We were all hoping to enjoy a few more seasons at the Oakland Coliseum with our favorite baseball team, but we found out a long time ago that John Fisher is not willing to prioritize the well-being of Oakland over his own profit. After a decade of negotiations with our Oakland United Coalition, community members, and the city about the redevelopment of the A’s stadium and community benefits, the team ownership announced last year that they would build a new stadium in Las Vegas and uproot the team to a new city. However, even though they are leaving Oakland and have even openly criticized the city, John Fisher and the other owners are still in the process of buying half of the Oakland Coliseum, through their LLC Coliseum Way Partners. They are actively blocking development and the flow of much-needed resources to the local community.
Public Land 4 Public Good! Coliseum 4 the People: The Oakland United Coalition has been working tirelessly for almost a decade to ensure that any development of the Oakland Coliseum and any stadium development undertaken by the ownership of the Oakland Athletics happens equitably and is bound by a strong community benefits agreement that ensures dignified affordable housing, living wage jobs, safe and healthy neighborhoods, and investment in the Oakland community.
Coliseum Way Partners, the Fisher Family, and the owners of the Oakland Athletics are preventing East Oakland communities from being able to flourish and thrive by blocking events from happening at the Coliseum and preventing equitable development. They have repeatedly failed to negotiate with the community and abandoned negotiations with local governments and agencies. Enough is enough! We cannot stand idly by and allow a corporation to determine the fate of one of our most vulnerable communities. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors has the power to stop Coliseum Way Partners and the Oakland Athletics’ Ownership from blocking progress in East Oakland and in Oakland, in general. The county made an agreement with John Fisher that allows him to be a decision-maker about the Coliseum. His decisions are causing harm in our neighborhoods and communities by blocking the flow of needed services, resources, and investments into East Oakland.
