We have yet another name for the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, as the Coliseum Authority has sold naming rights to the local tech firm for three years at $1 million a year, with a fourth option year.
The deal is not final, as the Coliseum Authority and the Belmont communications firm, which specializes in corporate communications systems, is putting the final touches on a contract. (This is not the Ring that sells high-end front-door cameras and security systems.) The Coliseum Authority is expected to vote on it during a Friday meeting.
The naming-rights deal is purposely limited; the NFL’s Oakland Raiders are expected to play one final season at the facility, while the Oakland Athletics are pursuing a new Howard Terminal waterfront ballpark. But that downtown effort is far from certain, and the deal could be extended if the A’s agree to it.
The stadium has been without a naming-rights deal since 2016, when O.co (formerly Overstock.com) walked away from a $1.45-million annual naming-rights deal when the Raiders announced a move from Oakland. From the San Francisco Chronicle:
“We have been working on this for a while now, but it was delayed over the uncertainty of the future of the stadium,” [Coliseum Authority Executive Director Scott] McKibben said.
Though the A’s will be playing at the Coliseum for another few years, that tenure could stretch out indefinitely if their new ballpark doesn’t pan out.
The reduced price on the new naming deal was based on the idea that only the A’s would be playing at the stadium.