After playing in five different stadiums in five years, including the past two seasons in Hayward, the Oakland Roots announced they are returning to their namesake city to play their home games at the Oakland Coliseum for the 2025 USL Championship season.
The three-million-dollar deal between the Roots and the Oakland Coliseum Joint Powers Authority will allow the team to play at least seventeen home games inside the stadium of the departing Oakland A’s baseball team in 2025. The Roots will designate 15,000 seats in the west lower bowl of the stadium as their capacity for games and transform the field into a permanent grass soccer-specific pitch instead of a baseball field.
“We are honored to be able to play our 2025 season in such an iconic venue,” said Oakland Roots SC President Lindsay Barenz. “We’re proud to ensure pro sports stay at the Coliseum next year.”
Although the deal was initially agreed to in March, it took almost five months for the Roots to ink it officially. During a morning press conference, Oakland city officials, including Mayor Sheng Tao and Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, and Alameda County Councilmember and Joint Powers Authority Board Member David Haubert almost seemed apologetic and thankful that the team, and in particular Oakland Roots President Lindsay Baernz, diligently worked through government bureaucracy hurdles to cross the finish line.
“I’m excited they have chosen to invest in Oakland and make our city their home,” noted Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao about the Roots. “Oakland fans deserve a sports team that is dedicated, energetic, and community-oriented, and I am pleased to support the club with the full force of my administration.”
The deal is seen as a win-win for the club and the city. For the Roots, the Coliseum deal finally allows them to play in Oakland again in a facility with many amenities, including suites, premium seating, and food vending options, unavailable at their previous stadiums. For example, the team announced they will have a club at the Coliseum with complimentary food and beverages on the second tier of the stadium. They also expect to use The Lounge and The Terrace, which include padded seating and table space as a premium experience. All those amenities should lead to an enhanced game day experience for the team’s faithful fans and a significant potential to generate necessary income for the club’s coffers.
It’s a win for the city of Oakland as it allows the Coliseum, a major sports facility, to still be used for a professional sports team instead of sitting vacant after the Athletics pack up this year and head to Sacramento and possibly down the road to Las Vegas. It will also allow at least some of the Coliseum staff working at the facility to continue to be employed next year.
In addition, Oakland city officials seemed relieved to have a working partnership with a sports ownership group that has repeatedly shown its loyalty to Oakland and desire to be located within The Town’s borders, the exact opposite of city leaders’ relationship with the Athletics the past several years.
“I’m thrilled to support their future in Oakland, as they have shown their commitment to the city since inception,” said Oakland Councilmember and JPA chair Rebecca Kaplan after the deal was signed. “Professional soccer at the Coliseum will continue the great sporting traditions of the venue for Oakland fans in 2025.”
The lease deal comes shortly after the City of Oakland announced it was selling its half of the Oakland Coliseum complex to the African American Sports Entertainment Group. AASEG then announced it would buy the other half of the property owned by the Oakland A’s, allowing the vast complex to be owned by one entity for the first time. AASEG has a long-term plan to turn the complex into a mixed development of housing and commercial uses and currently has no plans to tear down the Coliseum or the next-door Oakland Arena.
Last year, AASEG and the Roots signed a cooperation agreement to work together on potential short-term and long-term projects that would benefit the site and the East Oakland community. Despite the change of ownership, the JPA will still manage the stadium itself next season, Baernz noted during the press conference.
As exciting as the prospect of the Roots playing in the Coliseum is, the facility is likely too big to be a permanent home for the soccer club. With that in mind, the Roots are actively pursuing building its own 10,000-seat modular stadium on the Malibu lot right next door. They expect it to be ready for its 2026 season and be their interim home for up to ten years while they explore building a permanent stadium in Oakland.
However, if the Malibu project is further delayed, Kaplan and Haubert said they would happily work to ensure the Roots can play again at the Coliseum in 2026.
During the press conference, it was also noted that Oakland Soul, the club’s pre-professional women’s team, is not part of the current agreement to play at the Coliseum next year. The club’s start as a pro team could be postponed until the 2026 season, starting at the Malibu Modular Stadium.
The Roots announced that season ticket deposits for the 2025 season are already available to purchase and start at $5.10. In addition, the club announced that it will have another community investment round starting on Sept. 12th. The funds raised will go towards 2025 season expenses and installing a soccer pitch at the Coliseum. The Roots’ first community investment round raised over $3 million dollars for the club.
