Oakland Coliseum sale must truly benefit Oakland residents

Over the course of my lifetime living in Oakland, I have seen my city change, grow, and struggle. This has impacted me in a multitude of ways as an Oakland-born queer Black woman, dedicated to working for the liberation of myself and my community. 

Now, we stand at a crossroads. The sale of the Oakland Coliseum is more than just the sale of public land. This is a historical moment for East Oakland, for Black developers, and for the future of our community and city that will make a significant and lasting impact. Will that impact be positive and who will benefit from it?

While I believe the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) has made laudable and significant efforts to reach out to and engage the community, that does not absolve us of the responsibility to be vigilant in ensuring that this development truly benefits East Oakland and the entire community. We cannot allow another development to displace us, criminalize us, and gentrify Oakland. The sale and development of the Coliseum must truly Benefit Oakland residents, especially those in East Oakland who will be most directly affected.

Development of the Coliseum is an opportunity for East Oakland to thrive. It is in a neighborhood where there is a long history of disinvestment. This development is a chance for Black folks in East Oakland and all residents to finally reap the benefits of major development.

For the first time, a Black-led, East Oakland-rooted group is poised to own and develop a huge piece of land that could play a pivotal role in the future social and economic growth of a community that has been polluted, and disenfranchised. In order to guarantee that the most is made of this monumental opportunity and to ensure the pursuit of justice for our community, we must engage. We must work for and achieve a comprehensive, legally binding Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) that prioritizes housing, economic, environmental, and racial justice.

The fabric of community trust for City government is delicate and worn. The decision of the City to sell it’s half ownership of the Coliseum quickly, bypassing the established Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) process without transparency, community input or engagement was alarming. The swift actions of the City undermined public trust and left many residents—like myself—feeling ignored and excluded by the very institutions that are meant to serve us. Further, watching City Council members tear each other apart while attempting to express their disagreement with decisions being made about how the payments from the sale should impact and be accounted for in the City budget has been and continues to be disturbing and worsens the divide between residents and city government, further eroding public trust.

Some council members fought to ensure that community benefits were required in the sale agreement, for which I am grateful, but the failure to ensure that those benefits came from a robust Community Benefits Agreement negotiated, endorsed, and agreed to by the community itself was a failure on the part of the City. There is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with AASEG to negotiate a CBA with Oakland United, a local coalition of community organizations that has been advocating for a CBA at the Coliseum for over a decade. 

We’ve been fighting for economic, racial, housing, and environmental justice, and we’re not giving up now. 

In addition, AASEG themselves have intimated many times their commitment to benefiting the community with their development and engaging and involving community members throughout the development process. But, we cannot afford to treat any of this as a guarantee that the needs of East Oakland residents will be met, nor that the Oakland community as a whole will truly benefit from this development in every way possible.

A legally binding CBA between the community, AASEG, and Loop Capital is essential—not just for today but, to ensure that any future owners or developers of the property respect the agreement. East Oakland needs this development to benefit the people who live and work there now and ensure that they can continue to live and work there. We need a CBA that ensures accountability, transparency, and enforcement, in perpetuity. And that agreement must be negotiated directly with the community. The residents most impacted by this development—Black folks, low-income families, and historically disenfranchised people—must have a seat at the table and a voice in shaping the terms.

We cannot rely on city officials alone to ensure that our needs are met. We, the community, must organize, push forward, and make sure that this development truly benefits us. This is about justice for the people who have lived and struggled in East Oakland for decades without seeing the benefits of the city’s growth. A development of this magnitude could change lives, but it could also devastate our community if mishandled. We have an opportunity to break the mold, to ensure that this is not just another example of development that leaves Black folks and low-income residents behind. We cannot afford for history to repeat itself. Developments in this city have long overlooked the needs of Black residents, the unhoused, the formerly incarcerated, and low-income families. But this time, we have a chance to turn the tide. The stakes are too high for us to accept anything less than a comprehensive, enforceable CBA that centers justice, equity, and the fulfillment of community needs.

Not only do we deserve transparency and accountability from our leaders which we did not receive in the City’s decision-making process about this sale, but more importantly, we deserve a say in how our community is shaped for the future. The Coliseum sale is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in East Oakland, but only if it is done right. Let’s seize this opportunity together. 

Let’s make sure that the people of East Oakland finally get much-deserved justice, consideration and investment. Let’s work together and continue and push for a CBA that works for us! This is about more than just closing a budget deficit or making a financial deal. This is a fight for the future of our community, and we cannot afford to lose.

Vanessa Riles is the Oakland Campaign Coordinator at East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) and a member of the Oakland United Coalition. 

Vanessa Riles

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Vanessa Riles is the Oakland Campaign Coordinator at East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) and a member of the Oakland United Coalition. 

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