Bay Area

Oakland Needs a Level Playing Field

Build It at the Coliseum and They Will Come!

Published

4 years ago

October 1, 2021

Isabelle Price

Oakland, CA,USA - May,1, 2013: This is O.co Coliseum.（2011-2016）

Something stinks about the Oakland A’s claim that the Oakland Coliseum is an unfit site for a new baseball stadium. Why can’t the Oakland A’s build a new state-of-the-art stadium, entertainment venues, and affordable and market rate housing at the Coliseum? Is it because the Coliseum is located in a predominately Black community?

This moment presents a great opportunity to bring major construction and new life to the people of East Oakland. Oakland’s progressive City Council must not fall for the A’s bullying threat that they will leave town if they don’t get a sweetheart deal to build a new stadium and luxury condos at Howard Terminal. If the A’s won’t build at the Coliseum, and help the people of East Oakland, let them leave.

The Coliseum was constructed in 1966. Ever since, loyal fans have attended games at the Coliseum without incident. Never once has a major incident occurred because the Coliseum is surrounded by Black folks. The only fights we know about were between Raiders fans. So, what are the A’s afraid of?

Look at the facts. We have heard claims that the Coliseum may have water table issues. Are they telling us that a waterfront stadium won’t have water issues? The stadium’s field could be lifted higher and leveled.

They say fans want a downtown stadium with easy access so they can attend games after work. Howard Terminal is not downtown, and it does not have easy access. To get to Howard Terminal, fans will have to dodge trucks and trains on busy road and rail routes. At one point, the A’s acknowledged that fact and offered up a gondola system, but we have not heard of that recently. Probably because they realized it does not make sense. (Imagine 15,000+ people trying to get in a gondola after a night game.)

By comparison, the Coliseum is located next to a BART station with a link to Oakland International Airport and it has an Amtrak stop right next door for out-of-town fans. The Coliseum also has adjacent bus routes along with freeway access and vast parking.

The A’s say they need to build luxury condos to help finance stadium construction costs. By implication, they are saying they could not sell luxury condos in the area where the Coliseum is located. This is the same kind of nonsense we heard years ago. Back then, we were told that major developers would not build anywhere in Oakland. Well, look around.

Consider this as well. The A’s threaten that if they don’t get their way, they will move to Las Vegas. They back up that threat with visits to alternative sites in Nevada. That belies their claims that they must have a downtown waterfront stadium. None of the potential Las Vegas sites are downtown and there are no waterfronts in the entire state.

The Coliseum has it all. It has been a successful venue for decades. It has great access. It is in a tax-favored enterprise zone. It is shovel-ready with none of the major environmental requirements that complicate the Howard Terminal site. Further, building at the Coliseum would be a life-changing boost to people living in an area that desperately needs major development.

The Oakland A’s have had a proud history in Oakland’s Black community. It brought us great heroes like Vida Blue, Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, John “Blue Moon” Odom, Dave “Hendu” Henderson, Claudell Washington, Mike Norris and Dave Stewart who did much to promote Blacks in baseball and the well-being of our African American communities. Oakland was once a major incubator for future Black baseball stars. No longer! The A’s snub of East Oakland will cause the deterioration of Black baseball fans in Oakland to accelerate.

It is a shame that corporate greed is spoiling a wonderful history. We hope John Fisher and Dave Kaval wake up and see that their insulting behavior hurts Oakland’s Black community, baseball, and themselves.

In the coming weeks, this paper will continue to look at issues surrounding the A’s new stadium. Articles, opinions and commentaries will focus on Howard Terminal’s potential for gentrification of a historically Black neighborhood, disruption of industrial businesses, elimination of family sustaining wages, raiding of hundreds of millions of dollars of public funds that should be used for services like homelessness, housing for very low-income residents, public safety, street repairs, fire safety, how disrespecting black communities has led to significant erosion of Black support for baseball throughout the nation, and more. Please stay tuned and please raise your voice.

We want the A’s to build at the Coliseum. That would be great for the community, the team, and the relationship between A’s and Major League Baseball and Black people! If the A’s choose not to build at the Coliseum, perhaps they can sell the team to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) or a similar qualified owner group that would be happy to build a state-of-the-art stadium, entertainment and housing at the Coliseum. AASEG wants a level field where everyone in East Oakland has a fair and equal chance to succeed.

We do, too!

Isabelle Price

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Activism

Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

1 week ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 18 – 24, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 18 – 24, 2026

Published

2 weeks ago

February 20, 2026

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

CITY OF SAN LEANDRO STATE OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT ENGINEERING DIVISION NOTICE TO BIDDERS FOR ANNUAL STREET OVERLAY/REHABILITATION 2019-21 – PHASE III

WORK DESCRIPTION: The work to be done consists of roadway paving, base cement stabilization, concrete curb ramps, driveways, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, traffic detection loops and pavement striping, and doing all appurtenant work in place and ready for use, all as shown on the plans and described in the specifications with the title indicated in Paragraph 1 above, and on file in the office of the City Engineer. Reference to said plans and specifications is hereby made for further particulars.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 20, 2026

Oakland Post

PROJECT NO. 2020.0050

BID NO. 25-26.011

BID OPENING: The bidder shall complete the “Proposal to the City of San Leandro” form contained in the Contract Book. The proposal shall be submitted in its entirety. Incomplete proposals will be considered non-responsive. Sealed bids containing the completed Proposal Section subject to the conditions named herein and in the specifications for ANNUAL STREET OVERLAY/REHABILITATION 2019-21 – PHASE III/PROJECT NO. 2020.0050 addressed to the City of San Leandro will be received at City Hall, 835 East 14^th Street, 2^nd Floor San Leandro at the office of the City Clerk up to 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at which time they will be publicly opened and read.
WORK DESCRIPTION: The work to be done consists of roadway paving, base cement stabilization, concrete curb ramps, driveways, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, traffic detection loops and pavement striping, and doing all appurtenant work in place and ready for use, all as shown on the plans and described in the specifications with the title indicated in Paragraph 1 above, and on file in the office of the City Engineer. Reference to said plans and specifications is hereby made for further particulars.
OBTAINING THE PROJECT PLANS AND CONTRACT BOOK: The project plans and Contract Book may be obtained free of charge from the City’s website at:https://www.sanleandro.org/Bids.aspx Bidders who download the plans are encouraged to contact the City of San Leandro Public Works Department Engineering division at 510-577-3428 to be placed on the project planholder’s list to receive courtesy notifications of addenda and other project information. Project addenda, if any, will be posted on the website. A bidder who fails to address all project addenda in its proposal may be deemed non-responsive.Bidders may also purchase the Project Plans and Contract Book from East Bay Blueprint & Supply Co., at 1745 14^th Street, Oakland, CA 94606; Phone Number: (510) 261-2990 or email: ebbp@eastbayblueprint.com.
PRE-BID CONFERENCE: A mandatory pre-bid conference will be held on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM and on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 10:00 AM as follows:
Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM
Zoom Meeting ID: 883 8752 6074
Passcode: 502955
Zoom Link: https://sanleandro-org.zoom.us/j/88387526074?pwd=hZ5rjB8AWdLAUem3CtByFiZxqKarHj.1
And
Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 10:00 AM
Zoom Meeting ID: 898 2672 0472
Passcode: 091848
Zoom Link: https://sanleandro-org.zoom.us/j/89826720472?pwd=JgZX2nXMpLSRM5xDPr7EJUxl7QIznr.1The information presented at the conferences will be identical, all bidders must attend one of the pre-bid conference and sign the attendance sheet. A firm that didn’t attend the pre-bid conference isn’t qualified to bid on the project.Questions regarding the plans and specifications may be submitted in writing to the project engineer until 5:00 p.m. five (5) days before, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays, bids must be received by the City. The City will not respond to oral questions outside of the pre-bid conference. The response, if any, will be by written addendum only. Oral responses do not constitute a revision to these plans or specifications.
VALUE OF WORK: The Engineer has estimated that the value of work is between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000.
SAN LEANDRO BUSINESS PREFERENCE AND PARTICIPATION GOALS: The work performed under this contract is subject to Section 1-6-225 of the San Leandro Municipal Code regarding local business preference and participation. A list of companies that hold a San Leandro business license is located on the City webpage under the finance department, here: https://www.sanleandro.org/340/Business-License
SAN LEANDRO COMMUNITY WORKFORCE AGREEMENT: The work performed under this contract is subject to the Community Workforce Agreement adopted by City Council Resolution 2015-104. Contractors attention is directed to Section 10.