Business
Council Gives Approval for $125 Million Oakland Coliseum Sale to AASEG
OAKLAND POST — Providing financial protections to the city, the final deal removes the city’s obligation to pay millions of dollars to maintain the property. It also requires a bond to protect the city if payments on the property are not made when they are due.
The Oakland City Council cast its final vote this week approving the sale of the Oakland Coliseum complex to Oakland-based African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) for $125 million, which supporters say will bring immense benefits to city residents, including billions of dollars in future development, new jobs and housing to East Oakland, and generate much-needed income for the city.
Mayor Barbara Lee thanked the City Council for approving the deal and city staff for the hard work negotiating the final agreement.
“This agreement is one step forward toward creating jobs and economic opportunity in East and Deep East Oakland… communities that have been historically underserved,” Mayor Lee said in a video statement.
The city owns a 50% interest in the complex, and Alameda County, which owns the remaining half, has already approved its part of the deal.
Under the terms of the sale of the Coliseum complex to Oakland Acquisition Company, affiliated with the AASEG, the $125 million agreement will provide the city with 6% of ticket revenue from events at the complex.
The deal also allows a $50 million all-cash sale of the Oakland Arena to a third party, the Oak View Group (OVG). According to OVG co-founder Irving Azoff, the company will invest $40 million in upgrades to the arena.
Councilmember Noel Gallo, who made the motion, said: “This $50 million payment will be immediately assigned for the retirement benefits for our police, fire and city employees, since we are three years behind in making our payments to the state retirement fund.”
Providing financial protections to the city, the final deal removes the city’s obligation to pay millions of dollars to maintain the property. It also requires a bond to protect the city if payments on the property are not made when they are due.
The 112-acre Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex is one of the city’s largest development sites. The city’s agreement culminates several years of negotiations with AASEG, an Oakland-based, Black-led developer that partnered with Loop Capital, one of the largest Black-owned investment banks in the world.
Gallo also invited a student volunteer named Mateo Ridge to join in the photo celebration to help send a message that Oakland’s future rests “with our youth who will volunteer to help keep our parks, recreation areas and neighborhood streets clean.”
Ridge, who is the grandson of Jane Garcia from La Clinica La Raza, will be entering as a freshman in Middle College High School in Contra Costa County.
Gallo also has agreed to work with the Oakland Post and El Mundo newspapers to expand a city-wide movement of volunteers to help expand his pioneering efforts to remove the trash from the streets.
Paul Cobb said he would take up Gallo’s offer by scheduling meetings with neighborhood groups, churches and the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce to provide business leadership to help build pride in Oakland.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026
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Business
Longtime BWOPA Member Brendalyn Goodall Appointed to California Workforce Development Board
Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board. Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on
Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board.
Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on employment, aging services and assistance for underserved communities.
“Brendalynn will be a great addition to this Board,” said Gay Plair Cobb, who served as former state Assemblyman Sandre Swanson’s alternate to the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB).
“She understands that California’s non-profit organizations serve persons who have the most significant barriers to their labor market success and that the Board should help these groups navigate the complicated requirements of state funding.
“In other words, she will be a strong advocate for our most marginalized populations. Her voice is needed now, more than ever.”
CWDB works with the governor to shape workforce policies, programs and investments designed to strengthen the state’s economy. It collaborates with employers, workers, labor organizations, educational institutions, community groups and California’s 45 local workforce development boards to expand access to quality jobs and respond to regional employment needs.
According to the board, its work includes coordinating state programs and guiding investments in workforce training and development.
BWOPA California celebrated the appointment, describing Goodall as a dedicated advocate for workers, families and older adults.
“Her appointment reflects a lifetime of leadership, service, and unwavering commitment to strengthening California’s workforce and expanding opportunity for all,” the organization stated in a press release.
Goodall served as summer jobs program coordinator in the Oakland Mayor’s Office from 2012 to 2014. In that position, she helped connect young people with employment opportunities and job experience.
Before joining the Mayor’s Office, Goodall was division manager for Aging and Adult Services in the City of Oakland Human Services Department from 2002 to 2011. She previously served as senior services supervisor and program director for the city’s Department of Aging, Health and Human Services from 1990 to 2002.
Goodall is also a member of the California Commission on Aging, which advises the governor and state officials on policies and programs affecting older Californians.
Black History
Jackie Wright Champions Bay Area Stories, Filmmakers and Cultural Institutions
As an award-winning communications professional, Wright has worked with corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, artists, and community organizations. In 2026, she expanded that work by launching an introductory public relations class for small businesses and nonprofits, offering practical tools for gaining visibility, shaping messages and building productive relationships with the media.
Jackie Wright has spent more than two decades helping people, organizations and communities understand the power of a well-told story.
As founder and president of Wright Enterprises, a San Francisco-based strategic communications and public affairs firm, Wright has built a career spanning journalism, public relations, media relations, crisis communications, community engagement and multimedia storytelling.
As an award-winning communications professional, Wright has worked with corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, artists, and community organizations. In 2026, she expanded that work by launching an introductory public relations class for small businesses and nonprofits, offering practical tools for gaining visibility, shaping messages and building productive relationships with the media.
Wright’s commitment to storytelling is also deeply personal. She wrote and co-directed the 15-minute documentary, “Love Separated in Life…Love Reunited in Honor,” which chronicles the story of her parents, Specialist Five (S5 Wyley Wright Jr. and Ouida Fay McClendon Wright. Her father, a U.S. Army helicopter crew chief, died in Vietnam in 1964 while serving as an honor guard during a visit by then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Decades later, Wright and her siblings had their father exhumed from a segregated cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida, and their mother moved from her burial place in Georgia so the couple could be reunited at Arlington National Cemetery in 2014.
The family journey later took Wright and her sister to Vietnam, where they discovered the former military compound that had been named in honor of their father and another fallen soldier. The documentary, centered on love, war, family, racial understanding, and remembrance, earned festival recognition at screenings.
“It was quite an honor to learn about my family’s history and share it on film,” said Wright.
That filmmaking experience complements Wright’s longstanding advocacy for independent cinema. She has served as a media partner and brand ambassador for Bay Area film festivals, including the San Francisco Black Film Festival, Oakland International Film Festival, and the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.
“It’s important to help filmmakers and underrepresented stories reach broader audiences,” said Wright.
Whether promoting a neighborhood organization, championing an independent filmmaker or preserving her own family history, Wright has remained consistent. Through Wright Enterprises, she has turned communications into both a profession and a form of community service, telling stories that might otherwise go unheard.
“Our stories are an integral part of our history, and our history is not only American history, but worldwide,” she said.
Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026
Longtime BWOPA Member Brendalyn Goodall Appointed to California Workforce Development Board
Jackie Wright Champions Bay Area Stories, Filmmakers and Cultural Institutions
Chef Sharon Lee Blends Culinary Excellence, Education and Empowerment
‘Passing a Law Isn’t The Finish Line’: California Assembly Evaluates Implementation, Results
OPINION: Angie Nixon Will Turn You Into a Democratic Socialist If Donald Trump Hasn’t Already
Gov. Newsom Signs Law Shielding Immigration Aid Workers From Doxing Threats
BOOK REVIEW: Every Inch of a Lady
Big City Mayors Ask for “Yes” Vote on Housing Bond Measure; Conservatives Say “No”
Madeline M. Turner: The Inventor Who Made Juicing Easier
Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Hilton Blasts California New Tire Rules; Newsom Hits Back
Frontier Airlines’ Return to Oakland Airport Brings Flights, Jobs and Opportunity
Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber Urges Californians to Vote Early as Voter ID Battle Intensifies
Gov. Newsom’s Latest Appointees Include Sacramento Advocate for Formerly Incarcerated Students; State’s New Tech Chief
Oakland Coliseum Project Opens Door for Small Businesses to Build Bigger
Department of Homeland Security Demands California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber Scrub Voter Rolls
New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial
“The Power to See Threats Sooner”: Gov. Newsom, Safety Officials Showcase California’s Investments in Hi-Tech Wildfire Prevention
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Celebrates New North Atlantic Regional Director
California Sen. Padilla Joins Colleagues to Introduce Bill Imposing Term Limits on Supreme Court Justices
Less Affluent School Districts, Including Sacramento City, Face Threat of State Takeover
Car Wash Workers Cope with Lingering Impacts of ICE Raids
COMMENTARY: You Are Already Paying for the AI Boom
California Bill Would Let Abuse Victims Use Trauma as Legal Defense for Violent Crime
Oakland Post: Week of July 29 – August 4, 2026
OP-ED: ‘The Trusted Messenger’ and the Black Vote
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