OAKLAND — A group of investors with ties to NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott is offering to purchase the Coliseum land with the hopes of keeping the Raiders in Oakland, according to a letter the group’s attorney sent to local officials last week.
The letter dated Sept. 12 arrived days before NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell expressed optimism for a stadium deal in Oakland, and meetings between local officials and an NFL executive in charge of stadium construction and franchise retention. But city hall sources said the city swiftly rejected the proposal.
Those sources late Tuesday said they view Goodell’s comment as a positive sign for an Oakland stadium deal, but that they are not moving forward with the offer from the investment group.
In the letter of intent, Milwaukee sports, real estate and business law attorney Martin J. Greenberg said his clients, Stadium Real Estate Partners, LLC and its master developer, Egbert Perry’s The Integral Group, are offering to purchase the Coliseum to renovate it or build a state-of-the-art sports facility.
The letter obtained by this newspaper on Tuesday was sent to Mayor Libby Schaaf, Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty, Oakland Councilman Larry Reid and other officials.
“The ultimate goal of the purchase is to maintain Oakland as a professional sports destination with a vibrant and first-class sports and entertainment district,” wrote Greenberg, co-founder of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School.
The group proposes purchasing the Coliseum land — which includes Oracle Arena and other nearby properties — for $167.3 million, which accounts for bond obligations owed and prepayment penalties. The plan includes upgrading and replacing the site’s sewer and septic systems, which infamously have backed up during games, spewing raw sewage into dugouts and team clubhouses.
The offer amounts to roughly $250 per square foot, which is about the going rate for real estate in downtown Walnut Creek, said Ed Del Beccaro, senior managing director for Transwestern’s Silicon Valley operations.
“I think it’s actually not a bad price,” he said. “The question is whether it’s too low.”
It’s unclear if the Oakland Athletics, who have been flirting with the idea of building a waterfront ballpark near Jack London Square, would be part of the project. Lott and A’s co-owner Lew Wolff have been in contact, according to Wolff. A representative for Lott previously said he would not comment during negotiations.
The proposed master developer, Perry, is chairman of the board of mortgage giant Fannie Mae and CEO of Integral, a real estate firm that is one of the largest African-American-owned businesses in the country. He was also named at one time as a member of Lott’s group, along with former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete.
Greenberg on Wednesday clarified that neither Lott nor the NFL are part of his clients’ proposal to buy the land.
“Our goal is to buy the land, retire the outstanding bonds in their entirety, keep the teams at home if that is possible, through private entrepreneurship, and to develop the property into a world class sports and entertainment district as stated specifically in my letter,” Greenberg wrote in an email.
Mayor Schaaf on Tuesday said her administration did not recommend the proposal be forwarded to the City Council for consideration.
“We did not recommend consideration of this offer at this time,” the mayor said. “We remain committed to a team-centered development. We want the Raiders and the NFL at the center of this future site.”
Sources said the city did not want to enter into an exclusive negotiation agreement with a developer, hoping to avoid the failure of a previous effort by Floyd Kephart.
Schaaf on Monday confirmed the city and the county have entered a 90-day memorandum of understanding with Lott’s team to begin negotiations, but she declined to offer details. An appraisal of the stadium site called for by city and county officials is not yet complete.
This week, the mayor and NFL executive Eric Grubman held a series of meetings with local business leaders and politicians about the future of NFL football in Oakland. Lott, who played for the 49ers and Raiders, was part of those meetings, Schaaf said.
“The meetings are very general just in the spirit of emphasizing that everyone in this community has a role to play in keeping our Raiders in Oakland where they belong, in a way that’s responsible to the league, the team, the fans and the taxpayers of Oakland,” the mayor said.
Grubman and Schaaf also attended Sunday’s home opener between the Raiders and the Atlanta Falcons.
Grubman apparently took BART from Oakland International Airport to the Coliseum and, dressed in a suit jacket, walked in the heat through the tailgates to the longest tailgate of them all, the 66th M.O.B. (Make Oakland Better) outside the stadium gates on 66th Avenue. There, he met with fans minutes after Schaaf did, said Griz “Godfather” Jones.
NFL VP Eric Grubman with Griz at ground zero aka Mob Alley pic.twitter.com/g6lFK57rnR
— EastBay Sports Loses (@bauce_man82) September 19, 2016
“We all understand what’s at task, that’s why they came to us,” Jones said. “We understand the magnitude of what’s in front of us to get a deal done in Oakland. (Sunday) was a great joining of energies heading in that direction.”
Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, a tourism committee this month recommended a tax on hotel rooms to build a stadium off the Vegas Strip for the Raiders. The Nevada Legislature must approve the plan, possibly in a special session called by the governor.
Staff writer Matthew Artz contributed to this report.
