Zennie62Media requested and was exclusively sent the letter and document below which arrived just 30 minutes ago, and for presentation to you. It rests as a follow-up to my interview with Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, where Miley said that the City of Oakland had not shared any revenue numbers from the planned Howard Terminal … Read more
In Oakland’s sports facilities past, city managers and now chief administrative officers, the people charged with running the day-to-day operations of the City of Oakland, have always been a visible presence in the media. Thus, it’s logical to expect a press conference with Oakland’s current CAO Edward “Ed” Reiskin talking about the Oakland A’s work … Read more
Oakland, CA – Oakland City Administrator Ed Reiskin today announced his appointment of Ms. Erin Roseman as Oakland’s new Director of Finance, effective April 19. Ms. Roseman is a dynamic and seasoned finance professional and results-driven leader with 20 years’ experience. An Oakland resident, she joins the City of Oakland from the Transbay Joint Powers … Read more
LaTonda Simmons, the former City Clerk, is now City of Oakland Assistant City Administrator Oakland – The Oakland City Council has confirmed the appointment of Ms. Asha Reed as City Clerk and Clerk of the Council. Ms. Reed has served as an employee of the City of Oakland since April 22, 2013, joining the ranks … Read more
Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong Announces New Executive Team, Darren Allison, Assistant COP ONN – Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong Announces New Executive Team, Darren Allison, Assistant COP – vlog by Zennie62 YouTube Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong Announces New Executive Team, Darren Allison, Assistant COP New email from The Oakland Police Department reads as … Read more
First, Merry Christmas, everyone! Second, Let me repeat that title: “The Oakland City Council Budget Problem Is The Pandemic Councilmember Kaplan”. That take comes from a Twitter exchange that featured Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan posting this to a small set of other Oakland-focused Twitter accounts: This: They say the huge budget problem was … Read more
Oakland – On Thursday, Mayor Libby Schaaf and City Administrator Ed Reiskin shared with City of Oakland employees the stark financial reality the City faces due to extreme revenue losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Like all cities and local governments — and barring significant federal relief — Oakland must consider immediate measures to address … Read more
COUNCILMEMBER LOREN TAYLOR, THE OAKLAND AFRICAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND WIDE RANGE OF COMMUNITY LEADERS SUCCESSFULLY ADVOCATE FOR RELEASE OF OAKLAND’S RACE AND GENDER DISPARITY STUDY On Tuesday, November 24, 2020, Councilmember Loren Taylor, the Oakland African Chamber of Commerce and other community leaders, held a press conference to demand that the City publicly … Read more
Oakland News: A letter was passed to me moments ago that outlines the interest of the African American Sports & Entertainment Group in purchasing the Oakland Coliseum site for $92 million. The group consists of Ray Bobbitt, who spearheaded the African American Oakland NFL Expansion effort, which is part of this group’s focus, famed sports agent Bill Duffy, who was also part of the Ronnie Lott Group development team that tried to retain the Raiders in Oakland but lost them to Las Vegas, Oakland developer Alan Dones, former Oakland City Manager and one of my mentors Robert Bobb, and Chicago’s Loop Capital, where a family friend of mine, Darrell Williams, is good friends with former President Barack Obama, and is in the photo below with Loop Capital’s Chief Executive Officer Jim Reynolds.
I also know through a source that Oakland District Seven Councilmember Larry Reid has talked with Ray Bobbitt about this proposal as recently as last Friday. Here’s the letter, below, after the photo.
President Barack Obama and Darrell Williams (right) Of Loop Capital
AFRICAN AMERICAN SPORTS &
ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
ECONOMIC EQUITY THROUGH SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT DEVELOPMENT
1423 Broadway #183, Oakland, CA 94612
October 6, 2020
The Honorable Mayor Libby Schaaf
& Members of the Oakland City Council
City of Oakland, California
One Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Oakland, CA 94612
Dear Mayor Schaaf and esteemed Oakland City Council Members,
The African American Sports & Entertainment Group (“AASEG”) has been working over the last several months to lay the groundwork for bringing a National Football League (“NFL”) franchise back to Oakland. One of the critical factors in our ability to attract a new NFL franchise is a viable home field location for the team. As well, we recognize the interests of city leadership in the holistic redevelopment of the Coliseum area consistent with the vision articulated by the 2015 Coliseum Area Specific Plan. We also recognize the City of Oakland’s interest in maintaining a home for its Major League Baseball (“MLB”) franchise, the Oakland Athletics. We believe that all these objectives can be achieved and to these ends, we have assembled a Master Development Team well-capable of marshalling the resources and expertise necessary to transform our mutual interests into reality. Our team, described as the “AASEG Team”, is pleased to submit this non-binding, indication of Interest, proposal to purchase the City of Oakland’s interest in the Coliseum property for a total of Ninety Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($92,500,000), payable per the schedule provided in Exhibit A.
The AASEG Team
In addition to the enormous community support for our mutual vision, AASEG has assembled a Master Development Team fully capable of executing the development of the Coliseum property (the “Project”).
Bill Duffy With Yao Ming
▪ BDA Sports Management – Led by respected sports agent Bill Duffy, BDA is one of the world’s top ranked sports agencies focused, specifically on basketball. Bill has agreed to apply his extensive network and decades of experience toward execution of the Project, including assembling some of the leading names in sports and entertainment in support and endorsement of the Project. Bill was one of the architects of the Ronnie Lott/Fortress Capital plan that offered a viable option to build a stadium on the Coliseum site.
▪ Strategic Urban Development Alliance – One of Oakland’s largest African American real estate development firms, SUDA has executed millions of dollars’ worth of projects in the Bay Area. SUDA Chief Executive Officer, Alan Dones, has led development projects both in the United States and Africa. He will provide development consulting to the Project.
▪ The Robert Bobb Group, LLC – With specialty capabilities in economic development, urban planning and community and neighborhood engagement, RBG is an African American owned national consulting firm to both public and private sector clients. Chief Executive Officer Robert Bobb will provide consulting services to the Project.
▪ Loop Capital – The largest African American owned, full services investment banking brokerage, financial advisory and investment management organization, Loop Capital boasts a 23-year history of developing financial solutions for America’s largest public sector institutions and private sector firms. In addition to its global capital markets, Loop Capital is an experienced advisor on Public-Private-Partnership and infrastructure transactions. As well, Loop Capital is part of a team developing a 100+ acre parcel owned by the City of Chicago and the Metropolitan Pier Authority. Finally, Loop Capital’s Chief Executive Officer Jim Reynolds is a partner in JLC Infrastructure, a private asset manager with over $800 million under management targeting investments in various publicly owned assets. Loop Capital is the capital partner for the Project.
Stakeholder Interests
The AASEG Team is well aware of the aspirations of the citizens of Oakland and other stakeholders with respect to the Project and is prepared to engage the City as a partner in the execution of a mutually-agreed upon vision embodied in a Community Benefits Agreement that includes:
• Local hiring with priority on racial equity
• The engagement and inclusion of local and small business contractors
and businesses
• Environmentally friendly landscaping and sustainable, energy efficient
design
• Anti-displacement assistance and housing preservation policies for
residents in the development area
• The inclusion of affordable housing
• Project Labor agreements and labor peace
• Local employment and job access provisions, workforce training,
retention of existing workers, and apprenticeship policies
• Living wages, benefits, and stable employment opportunities
• Environmental mitigation measures
• Open space elements
• Sustainable and healthy development
• Transportation infrastructure and transportation demand management
programs, including transit affordability and accessibility
• Potential impact fee’s (housing, transportation, capital improvements)
• Other community benefits as needed and feasible, to be negotiated
Finally, we are keenly aware of the interests of the Oakland Athletics organization in a second option for a baseball stadium should current objectives not come to fruition. The AASEG team is prepared to maintain development space in the Project toward those ends and looks forward to engaging the A’s to fully understand and address their interests.
The AASEG Team is excited to work with the City of Oakland to develop a definitive agreement for the purchase and Master Developer control of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex and is prepared to engage staff and leadership to craft an agreement that reflects the provisions in this indication of Interest. We are eager to begin due diligence activities and formal discussions upon the City of Oakland’s acceptance of this non-binding offer. We believe that this historic undertaking will be a perfect example of the African American community being supported by the larger community in achieving economic equality. We are extremely grateful to be in a position to provide jobs and housing for the citizens of Oakland, and to continue to provide world-class sports and entertainment facilities for the entire East Bay region.
As America wrestles with social change, social justice, and economic justice, Oakland can lead the way in demonstrating what real impact is. As proud Oaklanders, it is a part of our DNA. It is simply who we are, and what we do best. We look forward to helping lead that change in the City of Oakland.
Sincerely,
Ray Bobbitt
African American Sports and Entertainment Group
cc: The Honorable Rebecca Kaplan, Council President
The Honorable Councilmember Dan Kalb, District 1
The Honorable Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas, District 2
The Honorable Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney, District 3
The Honorable Councilmember Sheng Thao, District 4
The Honorable Councilmember Noel Gallo, District 5
The Honorable Councilmember Loren Taylor, District 6
The Honorable Councilmember Larry Reid, District 7
City Administrator Ed Reiskin
AASEG, LLC
BDA Sports
7
The Robert Bobb Group
SUDA, LLC
Loop Capital
Exhibit A
AASEG Team
Oakland Coliseum Property Purchase Proposal
Schedule of Proposed Payments
Schedule of Proposed Payments:
At closing: $10,000,000
At the end of year one: $10,000,000
Year 2: $12,500,000
Year 3: $15,000,000
Year 4: $17,500,000
Year 5: $15,000,000
Year 6: $12,500,000
Again, with respect to the NFL, the same lawsuit that Ray Bobbitt invested $40,000 to start and against the former Oakland Raiders now Las Vegas Raiders and the NFL is not only still active, but restarts October 8th. For the group to have a snow-ball’s chance in hell with the NFL, that lawsuit would have to be dropped.
That said, if the group can gain some kind of joint control with the Oakland A’s, then the prospect of the NFL returning to Oakland becomes that much more realistic. Why? Because they will have control of land to build a new stadium for an NFL expansion team, or an existing organization.
Stay tuned for updates. Here is the letter on file:
Ed Reiskin, The new Oakland City Administrator, sent this email to Oaklanders regarding the Jacob Blake Protests of August 28th
Dear Oakland Community,
The City of Oakland is aware of a planned gathering starting at 7 pm at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza tonight, August 28, and possibly continuing through the weekend.
The group promoting this event is the same group that came to Oakland on Wednesday night, which resulted in broken windows at 21 businesses—including many windows of a 100% affordable housing complex on Grand Avenue and damage to a locally owned restaurant that has been serving meals to vulnerable seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also lit more than two dozen fires across the greater downtown/Lake Merritt area.
We stand with our community for justice, equality, and accountability. We support the reasons why people across the country are taking to the streets to express their outrage and frustration during this time of national reckoning about persistent racial injustice. In Oakland, we celebrate passionate protest. But any individuals or organized groups that gather with the intent to cause damage, that splinter off to break windows and light fires, are harming our already vulnerable businesses, many of which are owned by people of color, and hurting our community.
We remind Oaklanders that when they march after dark, they may be providing cover for these groups, who seem more intent on vandalism and stoking civil unrest than advancing social justice.
Oakland will continue to facilitate peaceful protests and demonstrations, and we ask those organizing marches and gatherings to ensure their events and the participants in them remain peaceful. The Oakland Police Department has increased staffing to provide safe space for the demonstrations to occur and will facilitate free speech while maintaining public safety.
We are providing this update in our effort to keep you informed so that you may plan accordingly. Businesses along commercial corridors are advised to secure outdoor fixtures, furniture, and trash and recycling receptacles. Please share this information with your employees, neighbors and tenants. OPD uses a free, web-based application called NIXLE to provide timely updates to our community about traffic disruptions or suggested alternate transportation routes. If you have not yet signed up for NIXLE, we encourage you to do so. Text your zip code to 888777 to opt-in, or visit www.nixle.com.
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Congratulations to current Oakland City Clerk LaTonda Simmons, who’s professionalism and leadership is unmatched! Oakland City Administrator Appoints Interim Assistant City Administrators LaTonda Simmons and Jason Mitchell, both seasoned senior leaders and Oakland natives, tapped for City’s executive leadership team Oakland, CA — Today Oakland City Administrator Ed Reiskin announced the appointment of two Interim … Read more
Zennie62Media note: that a budget can be structured during a Worldwide Pandemic and not include a calculation for a request for a Federal Government Bailout is totally wild. The Mayor of Oakland needs to think and do out of the box, because we’re not in a situation that allows the same-old, same-old. A dollar figure … Read more
Oakland, CA – Following a unanimous 8-0 confirmation vote by the City Council, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf administered the oath of office to Ed Reiskin at City Hall on Wednesday to swear him in as Oakland’s City Administrator. Mr. Reiskin was appointed by Mayor Schaaf for the position in April after a national recruitment process. … Read more
Swearing In of Oakland City Administrator Ed Reiskin ONN – Swearing In of Oakland City Administrator Ed Reiskin By Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf From the City of Oakland’s YouTube Channel. So ends a very ugly period in Oakland’s administrative history. Stay tuned. Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full … Read more
Oakland City Council Meetings Featuring Police Commission, Sick Leave, Ed Reiskin, Cancelled ONN – Oakland City Council Meetings Featuring Police Commission, Sick Leave, Ed Reiskin, Cancelled Today’s dual Oakland City Council meetings at 1:30 pm and 4:30 pm were cancelled. They were to take up resolutions that concern sick leave for Oakland workers, police commission … Read more
Ed Reiskin lands Robert Bobb’s praise (click on the video to listen to Mr. Bobb’s commentary). Ed Reiskin, the current but as yet unconfirmed Oakland Chief Administrative Officer who was elevated from his Assistant CAO position by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, has experienced somewhat choppy waters of public opinion since the news of his … Read more
Maraskeshia Smith, Oakland Assistant City Administrator, Left The City Of Oakland This Week ONN – Maraskeshia Smith, Oakland Assistant City Administrator, Left The City Of Oakland This Week Breaking News: Maraskeshia Smith, the former 18-year veteran of the City of Cincinnati who took the job of Oakland Assistant City Administrator June 5th, 2018, has reportedly … Read more
Ed Reiskin To Be New Oakland City Adminstrator; Mayor Schaaf Picks Former San Francisco MUNI Head ONN – Ed Reiskin To Be New Oakland City Administrator; Mayor Schaaf Picks Former San Francisco MUNI Head UPDATE: Robert Bobb, Former Oakland CAO, Praises Ed Reiskin, The Next CAO UPDATE: Mayor Libby Schaaf Announces Appointment of Edward … Read more
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