Oakland, CA – Oakland Roots announces the launch of The Acorn Project, an initiative designed to ensure every student in Oakland has the chance to attend the 2025 Home Opener at the Oakland Coliseum on March 22.
Each Oakland Unified School District school has a code that will be distributed to families. Bay Area schools and districts outside of OUSD who would like to participate can sign up at: bit.ly/acornprojectsignup.
Oakland Roots and Soul believe in the life-changing power of professional sports – and that every young person deserves to experience its magic firsthand. Because when sports bring us together, anything is possible.
OAKLAND ROOTS/SOUL STUDENT INITIATIVES
Oakland Roots and Soul is proud to share a robust slate of projects in partnership with Oakland Unified School District, and schools all over the Bay, for the 2025 season. The Acorn Project is planting seeds of community, education, professional development, and fandom across our beloved city and beyond. We believe that by investing in Oakland youth, we invest in our community and our future fans. When they thrive, we thrive. Each of these projects is already underway.
Free Ticket Program – Oakland Roots SC Public School Equal Access Ticket Program
We believe uplifting our children is one of the most powerful ways to strengthen our community. That’s why we’re inviting every public school student in the Bay Area to experience the magic of Oakland Roots soccer at our opening game at the Coliseum, March 22, 2025. OUSD is our anchor participant, as we start this program with Oakland Schools, inviting any Bay Area who sign up school to participate as well. More than just a game, it’s a chance for our next generation to feel the energy, unity, and pride that the Roots bring to Oakland and the entire region.
Youth Beat – Life-changing media training and mentorship for Oakland Youth
Over the last year, our partnership with Youth Beat has given career-building opportunities for students to develop professional sports photography skills on the field, with Roots as well as international teams like Guatemala and Nicaragua. We will continue to host and mentor these students, inviting them to the Coliseum as media photographers for the 2025 season. YouthBeat has also developed a greenscreen activation where fans get to take a fun Roots themed photo that is sent to their phone as a keepsake. These photos are easily brandable and looking for a sponsor.
ShowUP! – Shifting the culture to emphasize the importance of school attendance every day
Over the past 2 years, Oakland Roots has worked with OUSD to develop a campaign and program targeting the national crisis around school attendance that emerged after Covid. “ShowUP!” was developed with design and printing support from our partners at Oaklandish. The campaign brings together sports teams, restaurants, and other local businesses, to offer incentives for students to SHOW UP to school, every day. For back-to-school night, Aug 30, 2025, Oakland Roots will offer a ticket for every student who attends the first two weeks of school. These first days of the year build good habits and are critical for state funding based on enrollment and attendance.
Wearable Tech Competition – Circle CI sponsors Oakland Soul Jersey + circuit technology
Oakland Soul is working with CircleCI on a district-wide Wearable Tech competition including curriculum co-created by OUSD STEM and Oakland Roots/Soul. Working with computer science and robotics teachers, groups of up to 4 students will submit a design for a wearable tech Oakland Soul jersey, complete with lights, sounds, and whatever innovative additions they wish to add. 20 groups will be given material kits to bring their ideas to life. All 20 will be displayed at the STEM Fair, an Oakland Soul game, and more! Circle CI, Roots, and guests from Chabot Space and Science will judge this competition.
UpCycle Fashion Show – Oakland Tech Fashion Academy – ThredUP
We’ve brought together three amazing design schools: Oakland Tech Fashion Academy, Oakland School of the Arts, and California College of the Arts, to participate in an upcycle fashion show, combining Roots jerseys with thrifted items to create a head-to-toe look that shows style and sustainability can go together. The students will receive professional mentorship from Roots’ designers-in-residence. The show will take place at a Roots game, then be curated for submission in Oakland Style Week October 2025.
Castlemont Coliseum SUDA – OUSD Students reimagining the Coliseum
Each Spring, students in Castlemont’s Sustainable Urban Design Academy create architectural designs to imagine what could happen at the Oakland Coliseum lot. Now that Oakland Roots are Coliseum tenants, students will interview our Real Estate Officer, Roots will join their tour of the Coliseum and surrounding property, and generate their final projects considering the needs of the team, the community, and AASEG ownership.
Rooted and Rising: Women Leading in Sports Business
On Feb 28, Roots and Soul is gathering executives from major sports teams around the Bay Area at Northeastern University in Oakland for a day of panels, sharing wisdom and insight with young women who may want to enter the field of sports business. Warriors, Valkyries, 49ers, Giants, Sharks, and Kings will all be represented.College students get half-off admission, and we’ll be hosting two high school groups, free of charge.
OUSD Performances at Oakland Roots Games
From the Roosevelt Cheerleaders to the Edna Brewer Jazz Band, Oakland Roots seeks to spotlight amazing programs and talent at our games. These could be concourse performances, on field pre-game for the National Anthem or player walk-out, or our half time shows for thousands of fans to see. These are paid performances, as we believe artists should be valued for their work.
Oakland Athletic League – Supporting OUSD Soccer
Oakland Roots has invited Lamont Robinson Jr., commissioner of OUSD middle school sports to join our Community Advisory Board and begin planning for Roots to support coaches and teams across the district with training, player development, tickets to the games, and more. Our project 51O recently signed a player from Oakland Tech High School. OAL met with our technical team to lay out pathways for Roots to support soccer in OUSD, and solidify this new partnership.
Community Champions
All OUSD schools, PTAs, departments, and affiliated nonprofits are eligible to apply for our Community Champions program, where 20% of the tickets sold go directly back to the program. That’s $6 on every $33 ticket.
While these projects are already underway, we are also in talks with Community Kitchens, who serve 10,000 meals per month in Oakland, and are looking to support unhoused OUSD students in getting hot meals through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
