The sun begins to set as the Oakland Athletics play the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023.
That detail of the agreement — and the notion that the A’s owed the county $45 million within 180 days of the announcement — garnered attention after an opinion columnist for this news organization pointed it out last month, prompting weeks of confused responses from both the team and county officials.The team hasn’t said what it intends to do with the 155-acre property, which has a murky future.
A local soccer franchise, Oakland Roots SC, has made overtures to play in an adjacent lot or even on the ballpark grounds after the A’s lease at the Coliseum expires at the end of 2024. Meanwhile, the deal cannot close until bonds taken out by the city and county in the 1990s for improvements at the ballpark and arena are fully returned, with the final payments expected in early 2026.