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Oakland Roots and Soul Say They Want to Play in the Coliseum for Years to Come

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People cheer in the stands of a soccer game, waving signs that say 'Oakland Roots.'
Fans at an Oakland Roots game on Sept. 14, 2023. The soccer teams are scrapping plans for a temporary facility on a nearby parking lot next to the Coliseum, instead hoping to remain in the A’s former stadium while they search for a permanent home in Oakland. (Courtesy Oakland Roots and Soul SC)

The Oakland Roots and Soul are scrapping plans to build a temporary facility on a Coliseum parking lot, hoping instead to play in the historic stadium for years to come, the soccer teams announced on Wednesday.

The Roots, a USL Championship division club, plan to host at least 17 home games at the A’s former stadium for the 2025 season, but they will no longer pursue moving to the adjacent Malibu lot — where they were in negotiations to build a 10,000 seat modular stadium — after that. The site would have been a short-term home for the Roots and Oakland Soul, a women’s pro team in the USL Super League.

Instead, they’re hoping both teams will be able to stay in the Coliseum under the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s ownership while they search for a permanent home in Oakland.

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“By staying at the Coliseum in the short term, we are ensuring stability for our players, fans, and community and keeping the Coliseum as a productive asset for the community,” Roots and Soul SC President Lindsay Barenz said.

Throughout the A’s final season in the Coliseum, their looming departure had left the stadium at risk of being without a professional sports team for the first time in its history — until the Roots announced in August that they would play their 2025 season there.

Vanessa Wasczuk-Valencia holds a sign at the A’s last home game at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland on Sept. 26, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)

However, the plans for a longer tenancy aren’t final yet, as the property’s ownership is still in limbo.

AASEG is in the midst of purchasing the site, which is jointly owned by the A’s and the city of Oakland — a deal that has been tied up awaiting approval from Alameda County for the 50% stake that the A’s bought from it in 2019. Earlier this month, the county passed a resolution and term sheet guaranteeing a vote on the deal within 30 days.

Oakland had already signed a deal with AASEG, but the developers have paused payments to the city while they finalize the other deal.

AASEG founder Ray Bobbitt said he still believes that sale is on track to close by the end of the fiscal year in June.

“As we work towards our shared objectives of a brighter future for East Oakland, we look forward to our continued [cooperation] and would be open to working with Oakland Roots for a longer stay at the Coliseum,” Bobbitt said in the club’s press release.

It’s unclear how the Roots and Soul continuing at the Coliseum will affect AASEG’s plans to redevelop the site, but Bobbitt previously said the group would build housing, green space, entertainment and retail.

AASEG also plans to keep the arena where the Warriors used to play on-site, and Bobbitt said in August that the group is open to another professional sports team moving in.

The Roots will kick off their 2025 season at the Coliseum on March 22, six months after the A’s made their final exit.

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