Lucrative Oakland Arena becomes key component of larger Coliseum deal 34%
By Eli Wolfe27%
7/13/2026, 10:13:34 PM
Keywords: Aaseg, Irving Azoff, Ken Houston, Kevin Jenkins, Noel Gallo, Oakland City Council, Oakland Coliseum
BS Summary: This article contains 24 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Optimism Bias, and Anecdotal, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 12.7% saturation with 108 hits. Analysis detected 942 faulty-reasoning hits from 849 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 41.8% and a BS Rank of 34% (10,668 of 15,976 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 66.80% of the article peer group.
Oakland officials were all smiles on Monday as they promoted and approved a major change in the sales agreement for the Coliseum property that will theoretically net the city tens of millions of dollars within several months.
The council voted 6-1 to approve an updated sales agreement for Oakland’s 50% stake in the 112-acre Coliseum property to the Oakland Acquisition Company, an entity that includes the African American Sports and Entertainment Group and its financier, Loop Capital.
The new terms don’t substantially change how much OAC agreed to pay the city — $125 million — but it does set a new timeline that could see Oakland getting partially paid by the end of 2026 or January 2027.
Under the amended deal, OAC will split the Arena from the larger Coliseum property and sell it to a third party.
The deal also establishes a revenue-sharing agreement with the prospective arena and stadium owners to make sure Oakland gets a cut of future ticket sales, and it removes the city’s obligation to pay millions of dollars annually for the upkeep of the property.
It also requires a guaranty or payment bond provided by a qualified third party to ensure the city can be made whole if payments don’t come when they’re due for the stadium property.
Under the new terms, Oakland has agreed to an all-cash $50 million sale of the city’s interest in the Oakland Arena, the nine acres of land and indoor event center where the Warriors used to play.
This would take place at the same time the entire property, including the Coliseum and surrounding parking lots, is sold, which could be as soon as September or no later than January 2027.
Oakland would receive 6% of the annual gross ticket revenue generated by the arena and stadium, which city staff estimate could bring in roughly $3 million annually.
The city is also anticipated to save money on upkeep once the transaction closes.
A possible catalyst for the revised deal is Irving Azoff, an entertainment mogul and stadium developer whose company Oak View Group recently expressed interest in purchasing the Oakland Arena.
The Arena has become a popular destination for many musicians and artists in recent years.
At a press conference before Monday’s council meeting, Councilmember Janani Ramachandran said Azoff has a track record of transforming arenas across the country in beneficial ways.
“And East Oakland needs that,” said Ramachandran, who was part of a council team that worked with the city administrator’s office on the negotiations.
At Monday's press conference, Azoff, the cofounder of Oak View Group, touted other arena properties he’s redeveloped or run in Baltimore and Los Angeles.
Jerry Brown is a close friend, Azoff said, and the former mayor and governor pitched him years ago about the benefits of Oakland.
Azoff praised Oakland as one of America’s great music cities and commiserated about its bad luck with sports teams.
“I haven’t seen a city in America that had to deal with a more difficult situation than you guys did,” Azoff said.
Azoff said he is already studying whether his company could reinvent “Day on the Green,” referencing the concert series music promoter Bill Graham facilitated at the Coliseum between the 1970s and 1990s.
Azoff said there is significant work that needs to be done to bring the Arena up to the highest standards, including work on elevators, escalators, and other infrastructure.
All told, Azoff estimated it will take roughly $140 million.
“I assure you the fan experience at the Arena is going to be second to none,” Azoff said.
“We are making a transition into a music city, where acts of all kinds want to come and perform in our city,” Council President Kevin Jenkins said while praising the deal.
Jenkins was excused during the council vote.
Councilmember Ken Houston, whose district includes part of the Coliseum property, said he flew down to Los Angeles and met with Azoff to discuss the deal.
The two had “some good soup,” and Houston told Azoff about the type of community benefits he wants to see as part of the arena sale.
“He said, ‘I’m going to do the community benefits, and it’s going to be on steroids,’” Houston said, recounting his conversation with Azoff.
“It was a handshake [deal] like you used to do back in the day, Mr.
Irving.”
It’s unclear when this meeting happened or what specific terms were agreed to.
At the press conference, Azoff told Houston, “My word is my bond on this.”
According to Houston, the original agreement negotiated under former Mayor Sheng Thao was “lemons” and executed to save Thao from a recall.
He said, “We turned lemons into good lemonade.”
Councilmember Noel Gallo, who cast the sole no vote, expressed concerns about the city not being privy to the negotiations between OAC and Alameda County over the sale of the county’s 50% stake in the Coliseum property.
He also pressed staff to explain why the city isn't getting a greater percentage of ticket proceeds as part of the deal.
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