Oakland Roots’ Future at the Coliseum: Visibility into the Current Situation

For eight years, Oakland Roots Sports Club has proudly represented Oakland, Alameda County, and the greater East Bay. Two years ago, we chose to play at the Coliseum to continue its sporting legacy and because we believe Oakland deserves a professional club that reflects The Town’s grit, diversity, and heart.

You may have read that the Club is in arrears with its payment to the Coliseum. That is true. We have presented a plan but have been unable to have any substantial discussions with the Oakland Coliseum Joint Powers Authority (JPA) and thus will present our payment plan publicly at the Special Meeting scheduled for tomorrow. We are committed to a constructive conversation with the JPA, Legends Global (the venue operator), our fans, and the community about a sustainable future for professional soccer in Oakland. Our hope is that in the next few days we resolve the open issues and finish the season at the Coliseum without further distraction or impact on The Town, fans, community, players, and staff.

The current agreement presents significant challenges for the Club. We invested approximately $700,000 to convert the field from baseball to soccer, which made the venue available for cricket and international soccer matches and unlocked substantial additional revenue for the JPA. The agreement provides the JPA with all of the parking revenue, a portion of ticket sales, and requires a $20,000 food and beverage deposit for each game we play without any of that revenue shared to the Club. As crowd size increases, the JPA and Legends Global receive incremental rent if attendance exceeds 7,000 to pay for additional staffing needs. The Club does not have access to permanent sponsorship assets in the Coliseum to generate revenue to offset these fees. This year, we had a five-week gap in home games at the Coliseum to accommodate Major League Cricket; during this time we generated no ticketing revenue and had to put on a game at an alternate venue, which came at a loss. Because the agreement was finalized only weeks before the season began, there was little opportunity to negotiate more sustainable terms. We agreed to the deal in front of us to ensure the season would be played, while balancing the economic realities with our commitment to the community.

Still, the Club continued to create real value for the community in the face of difficulty. In 2025, we welcomed more than 136,000 fans, and an independent analysis estimated our activity generated more than $80 million in local economic impact for East Oakland and Alameda County.

We have presented a payment plan that would ensure the cost of future matches are paid in advance – including last week’s and this week’s game – and any additional amounts owed to the JPA are paid in full by the end of the 2026 season. We look forward to discussing the details at Friday’s public meeting.

In the meantime, Saturday’s 7 PM PT match at the Coliseum is moving forward as planned. Thank you for your continued support.

We encourage you to dial in tomorrow or email your local representatives today to let them know you want Oakland Roots to be given the opportunity to finish its season at the Coliseum and make good on its financial obligations to the JPA.

AGENDA 7.31.26:

https://www.theoaklandarena.com/about-us/coliseum-authority/meetings

When: Friday, Jul 31, 2026 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Topic: OACCA Special Board Meeting 7/31/26

Join from PC, Mac, iPad, or Android:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88587939276?pwd=BCzY-M0U2VVaeU0oRS0sCwrFRZXtYw.aA0_8somjwJLxAID

Passcode: 463364

Oakland City Council District 7 and JPA Board Member – Ken Houston – District7@oaklandca.gov 

Oakland City Council District 6 and JPA Board Member – Kevin Jenkins – District6@oaklandca.gov

Alameda County Board of Supervisors District 4 and JPA Board Member –  Nate Miley – District4@acgov.org 

Alameda County Board of Supervisors District 1 and JPA Board Member – David Haubert –  bosdist1@acgov.org