Oakland native and legendary A’s pitcher Dave Stewart made a bid to buy half of the Oakland Coliseum site in hopes of developing the area and, potentially, building a ballpark in case the Howard Terminal project falls through.
Stewart said he made a $115 million bid to buy the city of Oakland’s share of the Coliseum, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report. The A’s purchased the other half from Alameda County in October for $85 million.
The A’s declined to comment on Stewart’s bid. Stewart didn’t reply to requests for comment Saturday night.
Per the report, a spokesperson for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf confirmed that the city received Stewart’s offer, among several others, to buy the other half of the Coliseum. Justin Berton, the spokesperson, said any proposed sale “will go through an extensive, transparent and public review process.”
One of the other bids is from the African American Sports and Entertainment Group. The Oakland-based investment group submitted a $92 million bid to buy the city’s share. The A’s are also in talks to buy Oakland’s share of the Coliseum site.
Stewart grew up in Oakland and pitched for the A’s in eight of his 16 Major League seasons, including in 1989 when the A’s last won the World Series.
Keeping the A’s in Oakland was a central motivation for making his bid, as was developing restaurants and shops in the area to turn a part of his hometown into a destination. Stewart said he wouldn’t be surprised to see other Oakland sports’ figures join the venture.
According to the report, Stewart — who works as an analyst on Oakland A’s pre- and post-game shows on NBC Sports California — has been in talks with the A’s about how the Coliseum site will be used.
The Howard Terminal project is sitting in a stalemate amid the coronavirus pandemic. The proposed waterfront ballpark’s projected, ambitious 2023 opening seems unlikely as team president Dave Kaval and the A’s await a crucial environmental impact report. The city and county are preoccupied with handling the pandemic.
The A’s 10-year lease of the Coliseum is up in 2024. They’re the last professional sports team using the Coliseum site since the Golden State Warriors left the arena for Chase Center in San Francisco and the Raiders left Oakland for Las Vegas.
