The Port of Oakland has listed on its March 26 board meeting agenda that it will meet with Oakland Roots in a closed session to discuss the price and payment terms for the Howard Terminal project.
A public portion of March 26’s meeting will begin at 4:00 p.m., where they will report on closed session items and indicate whether any final actions are taken. The Port of Oakland will also have an open forum for public comments on non-agenda items.
This comes after the Port selected Roots and the Industrial Realty Group as its two finalists for Howard Terminal in January.
Roots and Soul announced its initial proposal to build a permanent stadium at Howard Terminal in December 2024, which featured a 15,000-seat temporary modular stadium while the permanent 25,000-seat stadium is being built.
Roots currently play at the Coliseum, but its future in 2027 remains unclear.
It’s fair to assume that building at Howard Terminal would require an extended amount of time, even for its prospective temporary modular stadium. Already a few months into 2026, playing at Howard Terminal by 2027 is increasingly looking unlikely. This means Roots could continue negotiating its stay at the Coliseum on a year-to-year basis.
Back in a September 19 Joint Powers Authority meeting, executive director Henry Gardner mentioned that Roots requested to play at the Coliseum in 2026 and 2027. However, the JPA considered 2027 to be “highly problematic.”
It remains unclear if the JPA’s stance on 2027 has changed since then. The organization notably did not finalize Roots’ stay in 2026 until January 12, and the current terms of agreement will expire on December 21, 2026.
In January of last year, Roots SC announced they put an end to its plans for a stadium at the Malibu Lot on the Coliseum grounds, shifting focus to its long-term vision.
In 2024, Roots president Lindsay Barenz made clear they would “largely” fund their own way, and some infrastructure at Howard Terminal would be eligible for public funds.
“We plan to principally pay for the stadium through private sources of equity. There are some infrastructural things that may be eligible for public funding at the site, but largely it would be privately,” Barenz said.
We’ll provide more information on Roots and Howard Terminal as the news becomes available.