RootsBlog

Oakland Roots Sports Club finally made it official on Monday, August 12 under a partly cloudy sky, announcing they are set to call the Oakland Coliseum home for the 2025 season. As Monday’s press conference ended, the sun began shining down on Ricky Henderson Field, revealing the the beautiful striped grass that Roots will soon call home.

They will pay $3 million for one year at the Coliseum.

Several local leaders came to the Coliseum’s Treehouse to celebrate the organization’s agreement with the City of Oakland and Joint Powers Authority, including Mayor Sheng Thao, JPA chair Rebecca Kaplan and commissioner Dave Haubert, and African American Sports & Entertainment Group founder Ray Bobbitt–who will soon have full control of the entire Coliseum property.

See our recap of the entire saga leading up to Monday’s announcement, where you will find a recording of the entire press conference. Here are our talking points coming out of the meeting.

What about Soul?

Roots’ front office’s press release going into Monday notably did not include Soul, which requires the Coliseum to immediately enter the USL Super League, thus making it a top division professional team in the U.S. Soccer pyramid. Right now, its only Roots to sign a deal to play at the Coliseum–contrary to original expectations.

But there is one situation at the Coliseum that has been in the news and was repeatedly brought up during Monday’s meeting: the purchase and transfer of land to AASEG and Bobbitt.

“Not only did we just recently sign a deal with AASEG to sell our half, but they have also worked on a parallel path to buy the Oakland A’s half,” Mayor Thao said in her speech.
“So, now for the first time in history I can remember, this beautiful property here will have just one owner, and that is AASEG. So what does that mean for Oakland Roots and in the future Oakland Soul, that means we have one organization to work with to ensure the livelihood and sports continue in Oakland.”

Barenz also made sure to take extra time when thanking Bobbitt for attending, mentioning their intention to continue working with AASEG.

“And finally I want to acknowledge Ray Bobbitt with AASEG, who we know has recently signed the term sheets to acquire ownership of this facility. We are so excited by that development and we have enjoyed a fabulous working relationship, and we look forward to continue doing that,” Barenz said.

So, you ask, if Roots’ agreement is now, why not Soul’s too?

Well, Roots’ USL Championship season runs from March 2025 with playoffs going until late November. As for the USL Super League, its current season begins this August and will run until May of next year. Therefore, Soul entering in the Super League’s 2025/2026 season will entail they require an additional contract for 2026, when AASEG will be under complete control of the property.

With Roots and Soul president Lindsay Barenz, everything she says on the record is calculated. When asked about what needs to happen for Soul to play at the Coliseum, Barenz sidestepped the question and reiterated what they need to gain Division 1 status: “We have the rights to place Soul in the Super League, which is a fully professional league. In order for Soul to be promoted, we need a permanent stadium. The Soul season will start in August and go through June, so its actually counterprogramed to Roots and we’d have soccer year-round. As soon as we can get a permanent stadium and have a place to play for the duration of Soul’s inaugural season, we can promote them.”

Barenz’s non-answer wasn’t necessarily cause for alarm, but possibly a testament to a situation she cannot yet speak on because AASEG still does not have control of the land. However, as indicated below, there is already a “cooperation agreement” in place between the parties.

Malibu Lot

When asked about the Soul’s future, in light of Malibu Lot as a requirement for their own stability– Barenz pointed out that its still on-pace for 2026.

“We have been working on a modular stadium that would be built next door to the Coliseum on a site that used to host the Malibu Grand Prix. Our plans for developing that stadium continue, currently it is on pace to be opened in the Spring of 2026.”

Barenz was also non-definitive on whether Malibu would be set for next year.

“Presuming we’re able to get that done, we would be able to make Soul professional in 2026 and also move Roots to that stadium,” she added.

JPA commissioner Haubert also stepped back on the microphone to call completing the Malibu Lot a topic of “continued persistence.”

“That’s another continued persistence topic is working through the partnership that we have and making the Malibu Lot available, we can also talk about Harbor Bay over in Alameda… We’re going to continue to work on that,” Haubert said.

Should Roots be unable to secure the Malibu Lot in 2026, they would go right back to being without a field to call home for yet another season. Barenz was asked about what insurance Roots and Soul would have if plans at Malibu fall through or extend past due dates, reminding the Coliseum’s ownership still needs to be finalized.

“That remains to be seen but its a conversation we are open to having once ownership is consolidated and certain for 2026. We would definitely consider that,” Barenz said.

That’s when Kaplan and Haubert stepped up to assure continuing at the Coliseum is an option if things don’t go as planned at Malibu. They indicated Roots and Soul have been working in lockstep with AASEG and there shouldn’t be any issues if things went that way.

“Short answer, I’ll say yes. I’ll lean into that one,” Haubert said.

Kaplan then went further, saying AASEG already has an “cooperation agreement” with Roots and Soul.

“I’ll join my JPA colleague in saying yes,” Kaplan said. “We are celebrating the 2025 plan but I don’t see any reason why they can’t be here in 2026 if that turned out to be a request. We are in the process of transferring ownership to AASEG, but I also want to be clear that AASEG already has a cooperation agreement in place with Oakland Roots and Soul to work together on their presence. They are already working together and I wouldn’t anticipate any problems with any of that.”

The Field

No, the above image is not to scale of a full soccer pitch by U.S. Soccer Federation standards. Nor will the pitch resemble the field generated on the Oakland Roots’ Oaklandish 2025 Home Tee.

Per a high ranking club source, the field alignment will run down the current Oakland Athletics third base line. It will likely look similar to the below photo from an Earthquakes’ match in 2008.

Unlike the 2008 field above, along with several other USL Championship clubs, Oakland Roots won’t have to deal with a baseball team requiring constant field conversions. Roots and Soul will no-longer play on its turf fields, instead having a lush field of green grass at the Coliseum. Technical director Jordan Ferrell is ecstatic to know what that means for his teams.

“Oh!,” Ferrell said with a smile. “The gamedays we’ve been able to create at Laney and East Bay are really special, but we’ve had a lot of comments about the surface we play on. The guys train every day on a world class field, so to be able to translate that here on an Oakland A’s field that I’ve actually been able to pass a ball on, I think people are going to be able to see Roots football in a different way.”

It’s a move that will benefit the soccer operations as a whole, now giving their players a field that can match up to the pristine conditions of their practice fields at Harbor Bay Parkway in Alameda.

“It allows us the capacity to play the way we want to is completely different depending on the surface. So for us to be able to have a surface that suits the style of play we want to have is going to be really fun,” Ferrell said.

On the topic of capacity, Roots are anticipating a footprint of 15,000.

“Our footprint at the Coliseum will be approximately 15,000; if you look over my shoulder, it will be the West side of the seats. We have a lot more room to accommodate a lot more of our fans and we’ll also offer more premium options with access to suites,” Barenz said.

One reporter continued to press Barenz on how many fans they expect, which seemed like a suggestion of possible cavernous conditions like many A’s games. Barenz shot back, saying they expect to exceed their footprint.

“I expect to sellout every game… I expect our opening game day will exceed our footprint here,” Barenz said.