Alameda County's Board of Supervisors is meeting for a special session Monday to consider approving the sale of its portion of the Oakland Coliseum complex to the Oakland A's.
It's a deal that's been in the works for quite a while now, and Phil Matier said Monday morning on KCBS Radio it appears the transaction will be completed. The A's stand to get a 50% share of the Coliseum site for $85 million.
"They do have the votes," said Matier. He added that it will take 190 days to finalize the sale, barring any litigation.
Alameda supervisors have said the deal will relieve the debt the county's taxpayers have been shouldering for decades.
The A's have plan is to convert the site to retail and housing to help offset the costs of a proposed new ballpark at Howard Terminal near Jack London Square.
This all comes several months after the county's ownership partner, the city of Oakland, sued the county in an effort to stop the sale of the 155-acre complex. That suit was dropped by the city in late September.
But Oakland is still looking to hold onto its piece of the pie.
"The A's want 50% control of the Coliseum site, they'd actually like 100% control," Matier said. "The city of Oakland wants 100% control of the Coliseum site, but they don't the money to buy the county out. So they filed the suit to block it. Now they've withdrawn the suit and they've entered into negotiations with the A's about either buying or leasing the Coliseum site."
The Coliseum property includes the stadium and former home of the Golden State Warriors, which was called the Oracle Arena, as well as the former Malibu Grand Prix property next door, and the Oakland Raiders' training facility in Alameda.
