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Oakland Businesses Propose $92 Million to Create First Black-Owned NFL Team

Published

5 years ago

October 15, 2020

Ray Bobbitt (left), pictured with Raiders superfan Violator, is in a group lobbying for a team in Oakland. (Photo provided by Ray Bobbitt).

A group of African American entrepreneurs and business people have put together a history-making proposal to purchase the Oakland Coliseum for $92 million to create the first Black-owned NFL team.

This is more than just about football, says Ray Bobbitt one of the Oakland business owners and a member of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (ASSEG), which developed the proposal.

“Historic design, having it be the first African-American owned football team in the NFL,” he said.

Seventy percent of the players in the National Football League are Black, and the NFL made about $16 billion in national revenue in 2019. Yet there has never been a Black-owned team In the history of the league.

A lifelong Raider fan who grew up in Oakland, he views the proposal as much more than about sports: it is a way to enrich and empower the community. “We would add an educational component to the facility,” Bobbitt said. “We want to add a Bay Area sports and entertainment museum, utilize funds to help increase education in East Oakland.”

Bobbitt’s development team includes sports agent Bill Duffy of BDA sports management, one of the world’s top ranked sports agencies; Oakland developer Alan Dones of Strategic Urban Development Alliance, one of Oakland’s largest African-American real estate development firms; former Oakland City Manager Robert Bobb, who heads an African American-owned national consulting firm to both public and private sector clients; and Loop Capital, the largest African American-owned, full services investment banking brokerage, financial advisory and investment management organization.

In a letter to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Oakland City Council members, Bobbitt wrote for the AASEG team, “We recognize the interests of city leadership in the holistic redevelopment of the Coliseum area….(and) in maintaining a home for its Major League Baseball franchise.”

“We believe that all these objectives can be achieved and to these ends, we have assembled a Master Development Team well-capable of marshaling the resources and expertise necessary to transform our mutual interests into reality.”

Taking into consideration the aspirations of Oakland residents, the ASSEG Team’s proposal includes:

Local hiring with priority on racial equity;
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 of the area;
Affordable housing;
Living wages, benefits and stable employment opportunities

Concluding the letter, Bobbitt wrote:

“As America wrestles with social change, social justice and economic justice, Oakland can lead the way by demonstrating what the real impact is. As proud Oakland (residents), 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.”

City Council President Rebecca Kaplan told the Oakland Post that she is enthusiastic about what the proposal can mean for the community.

“I’m excited about the possibility of more African American-owned businesses in Oakland and economic development and housing and more that benefits the community including WNBA, affordable housing, restaurants, hotels, local jobs and more,” said Kaplan.

Justin Berton, a spokesperson for Schaaf, said:

“The mayor has tremendous respect for Mr. Bobbitt and other Black entrepreneurs who want to make significant investments in Oakland, as well as claim long overdue ownership stakes within industries like the NFL.

“The vision of Mr. Bobbitt’s group is a historic one that would make Oakland the home to the first African American-owned football team in the NFL — a league that desperately needs more diversity among its fraternity of owners.”

Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

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May 25, 2025

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OP-ED: Oregon Bill Threatens the Future of Black Owned Newspapers and Community Journalism

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

Published

5 days ago

May 23, 2025

Oakland Post

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

For decades, The Skanner newspaper in Portland, the Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium have served Portland, Oregon’s Black community and others with a vital purpose: to inform, uplift and empower. But legislation now moving through the Oregon Legislature threatens these community news institutions—and others like them.

As President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which represents more than 255 Black-owned media outlets across the United States—including historic publications like The Skanner, Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium—l believe that some Oregon lawmakers would do more harm than good for local journalism and community-owned publications they are hoping to protect.

Oregon Senate Bill 686 would require large digital platforms such as Google and Meta to pay for linking to news content. The goal is to bring desperately needed support to local newsrooms. However, the approach, while well-intentioned, puts smaller, community-based publications at a future severe financial risk.

We need to ask – will these payments paid by tech companies benefit the journalists and outlets that need them most? Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors, and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption, and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

Legislation that sends money to these national conglomerate owners—without the right safeguards to protect independent and community-based outlets—rewards the forces that caused this inequitable crisis in the first place. A just and inclusive policy must guarantee that support flows to the front lines of local journalism and not to the boardrooms of large national media corporations.

The Black Press exists to fill in the gaps left by larger newsrooms. Our reporters are trusted messengers. Our outlets serve as forums for civic engagement, accountability and cultural pride. We also increasingly rely on our digital platforms to reach our audiences, especially younger generations—where they are.

We are fervently asking Oregon lawmakers to take a step back and engage in meaningful dialogue with those most affected: community publishers, small and independent outlets and the readers we serve. The Skanner, The Portland Observer, and The Portland Medium do not have national corporate parents or large investors. And they, like many smaller, community-trusted outlets, rely on traffic from search engines and social media to boost advertising revenue, drive subscriptions, and raise awareness.

Let’s work together to build a better future for Black-owned newspapers and community journalism that is fair, local,l and representative of all Oregonians.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President & CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association