Venue certainty for 2024 allows the Club to focus all energy on building the first soccer stadium in Oakland, California.
Oakland Roots Sports Club announces California State University, East Bay, as the home venue for the upcoming 2024 season as work continues to build the Club’s own soccer stadium at the Malibu Lot, adjacent to the Coliseum located in East Oakland, in time for the 2025 season. Playing soccer at the Malibu lot in Oakland is poised to be discussed at the City Council’s Community and Economic Development meeting next Tuesday, September 12th, and after that it would proceed to the full City Council.
In order to submit preferred home dates for the 2024 USL Championship season, the Club needed to have a set venue with available dates. California State University, East Bay presented the Club with the only viable pathway that is ready today.
Pioneer Stadium at California State University, East Bay has drawn some of Oakland Roots’ largest crowds in history and established an accessible, reliable, and family friendly environment in a beautiful location. The doubleheader event featuring Oakland Roots and Soul, with fans packing the stands, set a new attendance record for the Club and countless other memories have been made at East Bay this season.
“California State University, East Bay has been tremendously accommodating by making their venue available to Oakland Roots,” said Club President Lindsay Barenz. “We explored a number of options in Oakland for the final 12 months before we open our own stadium, but each came with a high degree of uncertainty and the potential for more disruption for our fans. We came to the conclusion that focusing on having our own venue at the Malibu Lot ready to go for 2025 should be the number one priority.”
Options explored by the Club for 2024 included the C Lot at the Coliseum site and a return to Laney College. While the Club and Laney actively explored potential ways to address the field issue, a workable solution was not found in time for the 2024 season. The C Lot at the Coliseum was considered as a potential stopgap solution for one season, however the time, effort, and financial resources required for a one year solution would set back the Club’s goal of securing a 10-year stadium arrangement at the adjacent Malibu Lot by 2025.
“We want to thank the City, County, and Coliseum Joint Powers Authority for their efforts in making the C Lot an option and for collaborating with us on the broader vision of bringing a professional soccer stadium for Oakland Roots and Soul to East Oakland. In our discussions, we learned a lot about operations and schedule coordination in the Coliseum area that will be directly applicable to making the Interim Stadium at Malibu a success,” added Lindsay Barenz.
Oakland Roots SC is currently seeking an Exclusive Negotiating Arrangement (ENA) with the City of Oakland and the County of Alameda for a lease on the Malibu Lot to be discussed on September 12th. It is anticipated that the City Council and the County Board of Supervisors will each consider authorizing an ENA allowing Oakland Roots, Soul, and Project 51O to have a place to call home in Oakland. The goal for Malibu is to have a stadium in Oakland at one of the most iconic sporting locations for the next 10 years.
With the 2024 venue now set, Oakland Roots Members will receive communication regarding 2024 Membership renewals in the coming days. Fans who would like to become new Members in 2024 will be able to place a deposit starting on September 23rd at 10 AM PT. Fans who hold a 2024 Membership will receive priority access for 2025 seats in the Malibu Lot Stadium before new Memberships are made available to the general public.
