AEG’s Oakland Stroke

The O.co Coliseum complex in Oakland, Calif., will likely see a switch in management from longtime operator SMG to Anschutz Entertainment Group, thanks to a close April 20 vote by the Coliseum Joint Power Authority to open negotiations with AEG for a five-year contract.

Philadelphia-based SMG could see its 13-year run in Oakland come to an end if negotiations are successfully completed.

The complex includes the Oakland Coliseum stadium – home of the NFL’s Raiders and baseball’s A’s – and Oracle Arena, a Bay Area stop for many major concert tours and home court of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

It’s a development made more interesting because other regional cities are wooing all three professional teams with new facilities, and the Oakland complex could soon be a coliseum with no gladiators.

If these are teams in search of a new stadium, there’s the thorny issue of AEG’s other California venue plans – Farmers Field in Los Angeles is a stadium project in search of a team. However, the Oakland Tribune reports that AEG agreed to a clause in its contract that it would not talk to any teams about moving south.

The eight-member Coliseum JPA split down the middle, voting 4-3 with one abstention to begin negotiations with AEG – to the chagrin of SMG supporters and lobbyists who attended the meeting.

The vote was not necessarily a surprise, given it followed the recommendation of a subcommittee made up of two JPA commissioners and three administrative members. Global Spectrum was the third bidder in the running.

But AEG came to the table with a wide open wallet, according to the Tribune.

AEG reportedly offered a $3.5 million “capital investment” for the aging Coliseum complex and a $1 million bonus for “revenue-enhancing projects.” The company also promises to bring in 25 events, including rodeo and boxing, generate $2.5 million at the end of the five-year deal and reduce operating expenses by $500,000 per year.

AEG also offered $300,000 worth of real estate planning and development consulting services, and it would be paid on a performance-based plan, rather than at a flat fee.

The JPA, beyond an assurance that AEG was not interested in “poaching” the Raiders for its own stadium, was likely also persuaded by the company’s development of L.A. Live – and has designs on a similar campus in the Oakland flatlands surrounding the Coliseum complex.