By Steven Tavares.
The Oakland City Council will vote on extending its current Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with the developer group seeking to build Coliseum City during a special meeting Friday morning. However, as opposed to a recent extension with the group, the new agreement now includes Alameda County.
The three-party ENA will replace the current pact scheduled to expire April 21 and last six months, according to an Oakland city council report. The deal can also be extended another six months.
“The ENA will allow for the Developer to conduct further market analysis and propose a series of equity public/private finance deal structures, as well as continue with on-going negotiations over possible development of the Coliseum Complex and the City property with a new Oakland Raiders stadium and a new Oakland Athletics ballpark, along with related parking facilities, as well as other commercial and residential development,” the report said.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors are scheduled to vote on the ENA during their next regular meeting on Mar. 24.
The county’s interests in being included in the ENA with the city and New City Development, headed by Southern California businessman, Floyd Kephart, has been slowly building. Following a meeting of the Coliseum Joint Powers Authority on Feb. 20, Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley hinted the county would eventually join the ENA.
County and city officials have recently stressed the need for all parties involved in keeping its sports franchises in the East Bay to work in a more cohesive manner. A recent plan unveiled by the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers to jointly build a new stadium in Carson, suggested to many local officials that time may be running out.
Last month, the Raiders agreed to a new one-year lease to play at O.co Coliseum through the end of the next football season and staying in Oakland is their primary focus, despite the proposed Carson site.
Meanwhile, the latest extension retains the right for all parties, including the Raiders and Oakland Athletics to entertaining their own proposals for new stadiums outside of the ENA, the report said.
In addition, the Oakland City Council Community and Economic Development Committee will consider at a meeting also scheduled for Mar. 24, the Environmental Impact Report recently approved last week by the city’s Planning Commission. If approved, the EIR could go before the full City Council on Mar. 31.
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