Stewart makes $115M bid for Oakland's Coliseum site share originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Oakland native and former Athletics ace Dave Stewart officially has made his move in an attempt to revitalize and redevelop the site that houses the Oakland Coliseum and the Oakland Arena.
The legendary A's pitcher told the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser and Matt Kawahara that he has submitted a $115 million bid to buy the city of Oakland's share of of the Coliseum site.
Stewart previously told NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole in December that he was part of a group of local and national business executives who had submitted a Letter of Intent to the city of Oakland expressing a desire to buy the city's stake in the land for $115 million and place a 10 percent initial deposit.
Stewart wants to redevelop the Coliseum site, whether or not the A's get their new stadium at Howard Terminal, he confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area. Stewart also confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area that he has two proposed plans for the site, one if the A's leave for Howard Terminal and one if they stay at the current site.
If the team ends up not getting their new stadium near Jack London Square, Stewart and his group of investors would be interested in building a new stadium for the A's on the Coliseum site.
When Poole spoke to Stewart in December, the conversation revolved around whispers that the 1989 World Series champion might try to move the A's out of Oakland.
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Stewart shot that idea down quickly.
“It's not about moving the A’s,” Stewart told Poole in late December. “I would never be the person to move the A’s, that’s for darn sure. That would never happen and me still be a part of Oakland, live in Oakland, have family in Oakland. That would never happen.
“As far as moving the team, if I’m ever going to move it at all, I’m going to move it back to the Coliseum.”
Stewart's goal with the bid for the land is to make the Coliseum site and surrounding area more appealing to residents and tourists.
“My thought is simply about economic development,” Stewart told Poole in December. “It’s about creating an East Oakland that people want to be a part of, where people want to fly in from Oakland Airport and you've got nice homes, you’ve got nice hotels, you've got businesses, you've got banks, you’ve got markets, you’ve got retail stores.
“It’s kind of like building a city within a city. You’re taking East Oakland and you’re giving it the facelift that the rest of Oakland is getting.”
While the A's are trying to move away from the Coliseum site, the land and the city's share are in high demand. Stewart's group is one of several bidding to buy the stake, including the A's themselves and the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), a group led by local business owner Ray Bobbitt, includes Oakland developer Alan Dones, former Oakland City Manager Robert Bobb and well-known East Bay sports agent Bill Duffy.
AASEG has stated that their goal is to build a football stadium on the site in order to get an NFL team back in Oakland.
The other stake in the Coliseum land was purchased by the A's from Alameda County last year for $85 million.
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A spokesperson from the office of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf told The Chronicle that the bid from Stewart's group is one of a few under consideration.
“The Coliseum site is an extremely valuable piece of real estate owned by the residents of Oakland. It has attracted several offers, including one from A’s great Dave Stewart, and the City will review each submission closely,” Schaaf's spokesperson, Justin Berton, told The Chronicle. “Any proposed sale or disposition will go through an extensive, transparent, and public review process.”
It's unclear when a decision on the bids for the Coliseum site will be made.
