Story Highlights
Redco Development buys former Raiders facility for $24 million.
Oakland Roots and Soul secure long-term lease for practice facility.
Deal generates $22 million for Oakland and Alameda County.
San Francisco-based investor Redco Development closed on a deal Thursday to buy the former Raiders headquarters and training facility, and will lease the buildings to the Oakland Roots and Oakland Soul soccer clubs.
The purchase, which totaled $24 million, comes after industrial giant Prologis backed out of its bid to buy the 16.84-acre site in Alameda last year, and gives the Roots and Soul a long-term practice facility, now named the UCSF Health Oakland Roots and Soul Performance Center.
“Having a strong training facility is vital to the success of our club,” Oakland Roots and Soul SC President Lindsay Barenz told the Business Times. “We are grateful to the City of Oakland, the County of Alameda, and Redco for helping us secure a long-term home next door to the Oakland Airport, which is a huge step toward our long-term sustainability in Oakland.”
Lindsay Barenz is president of the Oakland Roots and Soul soccer clubs.
The soccer club has leased the the two-building site and its turf soccer fields, training facilities, offices and surface parking from the city and county since 2021 on a year-to-year basis.
The deal will generate much-needed funds for the city of Oakland and Alameda County, which together own the site and each are estimated to make at least $11 million off of the transaction after closing costs. The pair has tried to sell off the properties at 1150 and 1220 Harbor Bay Pkwy. since the NFL's Raiders departed Oakland for Las Vegas in 2020.
“This agreement is great news for Oakland and our entire sports community,” Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said in a statement. “By securing a long-term home for the Oakland Roots and Soul, we’re not only ensuring the growth and success of these teams, but we’re also investing in our city’s future, building community pride, boosting the local economy and continuing to position Oakland as a dynamic sports destination.”
The Oakland Raiders' former headquarters in Alameda has been sold to Redco, which will lease the facility to the Oakland Roots and Soul soccer clubs.
Lydia Tan, chief real estate officer for the Roots and Soul, said the team entered a 15-year lease with Redco that includes extension options for up to 25 years, starting with lower rent payments that increase over time. That will allow the team to make long-term investments and upgrades to the property, like expanding the fields and upgrading locker rooms, showers and other spaces.
“Redco has lived up to their reputation as being very creative, and the rent is structured as a market-rate deal, but it also acknowledges the team is still in the early phases of its existence,” Tan said. “(They are) allowing us to have enough room early on to really make the kind of investment and improvements we need while making sure that their investors are getting a market return at the end of all this.”
Redco co-founder Chris Freise called the purchase a win for both Oakland and the Roots and Soul, and said the well-priced and located properties will be an asset to the firm.
“With their fan base supporting them, they feel bullish enough to make such a large commitment,” Freise said. “We believe in them from an organizational standpoint, that they’re going to be successful.”
Teeing up tenants for assets before purchasing them has been a successful strategy for Redco, which has scooped up several San Francisco office properties in the past year or so with tenants in tow, including 300 California Street, 400 Montgomery and 208 Utah, as well as beloved downtown Irish bar Harrington’s. That strategy and those deals earned Freise the Business Times’ 2024 Dealmaker of the Year award.
The Roots, founded in 2018 and part of the USL Championship league since 2021, are playing in the Oakland Coliseum for the 2025 season and exploring all options for a permanent stadium in the East Bay. Tan said the club is in talks with the African American Sports Entertainment Group, which is trying to buy the Coliseum from the city and county and redevelop it into a mixed-use, sports-oriented facility. It is also in talks with the Port of Oakland, which recently opened a request for proposals for Howard Terminal, a site the Athletics considered before leaving town, to explore building a soccer stadium there.
“Once we get the practice facility stabilized and underway, we’re going to be very focused on our permanent venue for the gameday experience,” Tan said.
The Harbor Bay Parkway properties total 118,847 square feet and were used by the Raiders as its former training facility and headquarters. The county attempted to auction off the former Raiders headquarters in 2023 with a minimum bid price of $35.8 million, but ultimately postponed the auction without reason or notice.
The former headquarters has a locker room, media production rooms, conference rooms, two indoor whirlpools with a steam room and a fenced and gated parking lot. The training facility has an indoor fitness space, an exterior pool and a large grass field.
“It makes our ability to continue to be focused on Oakland and focused on the East Bay that much more real,” Tan said. “It allows us to make sure that we are continuing to stay true to our purpose, which is all about uplifting the community. We’re really excited about it.”