While the Oakland A’s may be heading out of town, the Oakland Coliseum site could remain as a pro venue, with a new Oakland Roots stadium proposed for the Malibu Lot parking lot south of the arena/ballpark complex.
The Malibu Lot parking lot is located in the bottom left of the 1967 photo above.
Soul Sports Club has proposed the site as the location for a stadium serving its Oakland Roots (USL Championship), Oakland Soul (USL W League) and Project 51O (USL League Two) teams. The Roots currently call Laney College home, but late last summer management announced that it would be seeking a location for a new home after adding the USL W League team. The Laney stadium poses a slew of challenges: to meet the official width standard, additional turf must be layered on top of Laney’s existing turf. This system has led to issues, including the inability to play games at Laney College on multiple occasions. Those continuing turf issues are a key reason for Roots and Soul’s submitted proposal for a stadium the organization can make its own.
The city has been working with African American Sports & Entertainment Group (AASEG) on a transfer of the half interest in the Coliseum site; the future of the complex remains to be written, as the A’s were going to leave the Coliseum no matter what. If accepted, the proposal to the City of Oakland and Alameda County (as co-owners) would allow Oakland Roots and Soul to play their home matches at the Malibu site for up to 10 years, as well as host other events that are of interest to the community.
The plan has received the endorsement of the Mayor of Oakland, Sheng Thao.
“We are truly excited to see this level of commitment from Oakland Roots and Oakland Soul SC to The Town,” said Thao. “In just a few short years, the Roots have become a beloved institution in Oakland, and we are thrilled they will soon be joined by Oakland Soul. We look forward to matching their commitment by working together on this proposal and bringing more opportunities to Oakland and the fans.”
Photo courtesy Oakland Roots.
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