Calif. city forms contingency plan to cut public safety funding if sale of sports stadium fails

By Joanna Putman
Police1

OAKLAND, Calif. — The city of Oakland, California, has announced contingency plans in case a critical $105 million deal to sell its share of its home stadium to private developers fails the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The contingency plan involves cutting an additional $63 million from city programs and staff to cover expenditures, which includes closing police academies and freezing 78 police officer positions.

The proposal represents a worst-case scenario if the city cannot secure the funds needed to close a $292 million deficit, according to the report. Closing two police academies would save the city approximately $3.5 million. Freezing officer positions would save about $23 million.

The plan also includes freezing five fire companies and several jobs to save an additional $20 million, according to the report.

Ray Bobbitt, founder of the African American Sports & Entertainment Group, the private development group purchasing the city’s 50% ownership of the Coliseum parcel, stated that the deal remains on track despite the current turmoil, according to the report. AASEG is also negotiating with the Oakland Athletics organization to purchase the remaining 50% share of the site, as the baseball team plans to move to Las Vegas next year.

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“Work to finalize a landmark agreement selling the City’s ownership of the Oakland Coliseum property to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) is making swift progress,” Sean Maher, the city’s communications manager, said in a statement. “At the request of Councilmembers, the administration has provided the City Council with scenario options to balance the budget that will correspond to wherever that progress stands at the June 30 deadline to pass a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.”

The mayor’s office has been instrumental in brokering and championing the agreement to sell the city’s half of the Coliseum to AASEG, a deal later approved by the council. However, technicalities, particularly the payment schedule, are still being finalized, according to the report. Proceeds from the sale are intended to help the city close its deficit this year and next without major cuts to public safety departments or layoffs among city staff. The contingency planning highlights the potential for such outcomes if the deal does not proceed as planned.