Alameda planning board hears proposal to host Oakland Roots matches at Harbor Bay Parkway; no permit decided

Alameda 's Planning Board on June 22 held a public workshop on a proposal by the Oakland Roots and Soul to stage professional soccer matches at their existing training and headquarters site at 1150 and 1220 Harbor Bay Parkway.

Planner Brian Magcguire told the board the proposal would be treated as a conditional outdoor assembly use requiring a conditional use permit and design review. Staff described draft conditions that would limit event counts, require an applicant-approved traffic-control plan, safety and operations plans reviewed by police and fire, and FAA and airport land-use commission review for tall field lights. "We estimate roughly 3,200 parking spaces would be needed on game days for a sellout crowd," Magcguire said, adding the formal traffic impact analysis and trip-distribution model were not yet complete.

Lydia Tan, chief real estate officer for Oakland Roots and Soul, said the club is proposing modular grandstands and temporary facilities to support about 24 matches per year, with typical attendances the club described as up to 8,000 at the largest events and a mix of smaller events (about 10 more events of 500'to'2,500 people). "We're excited about the idea of having an intimate venue to celebrate the community and our team," Tan said, outlining measures the club is developing: shuttles from Coliseum BART, incentives for high-occupancy cars, a bike valet, geo-fencing for ride-hail, and acoustic design to orient amplified sound away from residential neighborhoods.

Public comment showed deep divisions. Bay Farm residents warned that a large match-day population could block the island's two existing exit routes and pose evacuation risks. "This location is absolutely not appropriate for this kind of venue," said Marie Kaine of Bay Farm Island, who urged the board to block the proposal because of traffic, air-quality and emergency-evacuation concerns. Other residents urged denial over late-night noise, potential fireworks and spillover into neighborhood streets.

Several speakers offered the opposite view. Bay Farm residents and the city's business chamber said game days could funnel visitors into Alameda businesses and bolster local restaurants and hotels. "We see this as soccer in our backyard and a family-friendly event," said Melissa D'bor, a Bay Farm resident who expressed support for the Roots hosting matches at the site.

Board members did not vote on the proposal. Instead they framed a set of expectations staff and the applicant should address before the planning board could make findings: a completed traffic impact analysis and trip-distribution model that explicitly studies Bay Farm Bridge and neighborhood cut-through risks; a detailed parking-management program supported by signed shared-parking agreements; clearly identified shuttle and ride-hail pickup/drop-off locations and geo-fencing; a lighting and dark-skies plan coordinated with FAA and airport land-use review; noise modeling and acoustic mitigation strategies; police and fire-approved safety and operations plans; an explicit prohibition of fireworks in the use-permit conditions; and an annual review process to check compliance.

Magcguire and the applicant agreed to return with the pending traffic analysis and with more detailed operational plans. No permit was granted at the workshop stage; the board clarified that any eventual approval would be contingent on the required studies and enforceable conditions.

What's next: staff said the traffic study draft should be available soon and that a conditional use permit package will return to the planning board for formal findings and possible action once the outstanding analyses and agreements are in place.