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Alameda County negotiators say Coliseum sale close, but litigation release remains unresolved
Summary
After hours of public comment urging approval, county staff told supervisors negotiators made progress on the term sheet for assigning the Oakland Coliseum Complex sale to OAC but said two documents — a quitclaim deed and a litigation release — remain outstanding; negotiators scheduled another meeting tomorrow and will report back Tuesday.
Alameda County officials reported progress on negotiations to assign the sale of the Oakland Coliseum Complex from CWP to the Oakland Acquisition Consortium (OAC) but said a legal release tied to ongoing litigation is still unresolved, delaying final closing steps.
President Halbert opened the special meeting and allowed broad public comment; more than 20 in-person speakers and several online commenters urged the board to approve the assignment, saying the project would bring jobs, training and economic activity to East Oakland. “This is a community-based effort,” OAC supporter Ray Bobbitt told the board. “We love Oakland.”
The county’s negotiating team, represented in open session by Kimberly Gassaway, director of the General Services Agency, told the board staff were negotiating “in good faith” and expected two outstanding documents from OAC/AASEG: a quitclaim-deed form and a release related to pending litigation. Gassaway said the county expects the documents at the next negotiation meeting, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, and will continue working to finalize the transaction.
Devin Popat, counsel for OAC, said OAC will provide a form quitclaim deed and is committed to finalizing documents. On the litigation release he told the board, “I don’t think that that is an item that is provided for as a condition to closing in the assignment,” and said OAC would work with parties to resolve related issues but did not expect the release to be resolved at tomorrow’s meeting.
Not all speakers supported immediate approval. Caller Kareem Muhammad, cofounder of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, urged supervisors to delay action until ongoing disputes among project partners were resolved and said the matter would be better cleared in arbitration or court. In response, Septina Mcbough McDonald told the board that disputes belong in court and emphasized community support for the proposal.
Board members described the item as a real-property transaction rather than a development agreement, noting that the county’s role is to transfer the property interest and not to dictate future development details. County counsel reminded the board the sale is a straight real-estate assignment, which limits what the county can impose about future project design or operations.
Several supervisors signaled eagerness to finish negotiations quickly. Supervisor Miley noted that three supervisors at the dais were committed to completing the transaction, and Supervisor Bass said the county had provided clear guidance to negotiators and hoped to see the outstanding documents come together in the next session.
No vote or formal action was taken at the meeting. The negotiating teams from both sides scheduled another negotiation session for tomorrow; staff said they will return to the board with an update next Tuesday. President Halbert closed by urging all parties to “make this happen.”
What’s next: negotiators meet tomorrow to exchange outstanding documents; the board will receive a further report next Tuesday. If the documents are delivered and the parties reach agreement, the board could be asked at a future meeting to approve the formal assignment.
