For years, Oakland’s major event venues — the Coliseum and the neighboring Oracle Arena — have lagged behind the competition, booking fewer big concerts and raking in less money than comparably-sized venues in other cities. In 2008, an outside audit declared the Oracle Arena to be “underutilized” and “underperforming”; earlier this month, the Coliseum’s operators came under fire for mishandling the parking situation at a U2 concert.
And as late as yesterday, it looked like venue officials were going to renew their no-bid contract with SMG Management, which has overseen the Coliseum for the past ten years, and which is offering the Coliseum Authority a $1.5 million capital contribution.
