Aiming to revitalize the area where he grew up, former A’s pitcher Dave Stewart has made a bid to buy the city of Oakland’s share of the Coliseum site, with ideas of developing it and potentially building a new stadium there if plans for a Howard Terminal ballpark don’t materialize.
Stewart, who is from Oakland and won a World Series with the A’s in 1989, told The Chronicle he submitted a $115 million bid for the city’s half-ownership of the Coliseum site. The A’s own the other half, having closed a deal in October to buy Alameda County’s portion for $85 million. The city of Oakland has been negotiating with the A’s about possibly selling its share to the team as well.
A spokesperson for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf confirmed Stewart’s offer is one of “several” the city has received.
“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,” said Mayor’s office spokesperson Justin Berton. “Any proposed sale or disposition will go through an extensive, transparent, and public review process.”
If the A’s leave the Coliseum site, Stewart, 63, said he envisions redevelopment that would benefit residents of the area, citing growth of nearby communities like Emeryville.
“I grew up right there and I’ve watched what’s happened in East Oakland,” Stewart said. “East Oakland seems like a forgotten area.
“My thought was, ‘Why should people there have to go to San Francisco for nice restaurants or stores?’ If there is going to be affordable housing there, why not nice restaurants and shops — and you create employment opportunities. Why wouldn’t you create a city within the city and revive the area?”
Stewart did not specify partners or other investors in his bid; he said that ultimately “there would be more for the kind of project we’d like to do — for that we’d need some big backing.” Stewart said any such project would be approached in stages and he thinks there’s a good chance other Oakland sports figures would join the effort.
“The bid is in and I need to turn in the vision, put the plans for the property on paper for the city to consider it properly,” Stewart said. “At some point I need to prove the financials, but that’s not a problem.”
The A’s have proposed plans to build a waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal but also want to be able to develop the Coliseum site. Oakland’s city council voted last June to begin negotiating to sell its half of the Coliseum site to the A’s.
An A’s spokesperson did not comment Saturday on Stewart’s bid to purchase the city’s share.
Stewart, who played parts of eight seasons with the A’s and is now an analyst on their pre- and post-game TV broadcasts, said he has talked with team president Dave Kaval about how the Coliseum site would be used and would be happy to work with the A’s. Stewart also said he still views the site as a viable option for a new A’s ballpark and he’s submitting plans to the city that both do and do not include a stadium there.
“To me, the most important thing is for Oakland to keep the A’s free and clear — even if they do it at the current stadium site, that’s fine with me,” Stewart said. “But you still have to do something to improve that area for the residents and make it a more attractive destination. … I’m just trying to do what I’ve always tried to do — something good in the area I’m from.”
The A’s are the last pro team still using the Coliseum site after departures of the Raiders and the Warriors, who played at the adjacent arena. In October, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, an Oakland-based business and investment group, said it had submitted a $92 million bid to buy the city’s share of the site with a goal of attracting an NFL team that would have majority Black ownership.
The A’s previously hoped to open a Howard Terminal ballpark for the 2023 season, but that now appears unlikely. The team signed a 10-year lease extension at the Coliseum in 2014; Stewart said he expects it will be clear by the end of that lease whether a Howard Terminal stadium is happening.
Susan Slusser covers the Giants and Matt Kawahara covers the A’s for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com, mkawahara@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser, @matthewkawahara
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Former A’s pitcher Dave Stewart bids $115M on share of Oakland Coliseum site - San Francisco Chronicle
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