Oakland mayor ripped over $60M sweetheart stadium deal

Oakland lawmakers on Monday advanced a controversial deal to unload the city’s stake in the decaying Coliseum — despite the buyer previously missing a key payment deadline and documents newly obtained by The Post revealing a competing bid from the Oakland Arena’s longtime operator.The revised agreement, which heads to a final City Council vote next week, would keep alive a transaction first brokered under ex-Mayor Sheng Thao, who was criminally indicted on bribery and corruption charges.It comes as the once-proud sports complex, which includes the Arena, has been hollowed out by the departures of the Warriors, Raiders and Athletics — and now even the Oakland Roots soccer club is preparing to ditch the aging stadium after its second Coliseum season.Yet instead of abandoning the deal after the buyer missed its original payment deadline, Oakland is preparing to seller-finance $60 million of the purchase at a 5% interest rate to keep the troubled transaction alive.Critics blasted the proposal Monday, accusing Mayor Barbara Lee and City Council members of doubling down on a bad deal that has only grown more unusual since it was first unveiled under Thao.“This demonstrates an absolute abdication of leadership by the sitting mayor and members of the City Council,” a former Oakland city official now involved in development projects told The Post.The deal centers on Oakland’s 50% ownership interest in the 112-acre Coliseum complex, which it jointly owns with Alameda County.

Redevelopment has long been complicated by the split ownership, prompting city officials to pursue a buyer capable of assembling control of the entire property.The City Council first authorized exclusive negotiations with developer Ray Bobbitt’s African American Sports and Entertainment Group in 2021, before approving the sale in June 2024 under Thao.Oakland later entered into a purchase agreement with Oakland Acquisition Co., an AASEG affiliate, and subsequently increased the total purc...