Oakland Coliseum sells off naming rights to Ring Central

There will soon be a new ring to the aging Oakland Coliseum’s name, as the board that oversees the Coliseum complex’s operations voted unanimously on Friday to approve an agreement calling it the Ring Central Coliseum.

The deal approved by the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority calls for Ring Central, a communications firm based in Belmont, to pay $1 million a year for the next three years and gives it the option to renew the deal for a fourth year.

The Coliseum, which is the home of the Oakland A’s and the Oakland Raiders, has been without a corporate name since Overstock.com, an online retailer, ended its naming rights deal with the Coliseum in 2016. Overstock.com had the naming rights for the stadium for five years, during which it was called the O.Co Coliseum.

The Raiders plan to move to a new stadium in Las Vegas in the next few years, but the stadium hasn’t been completed yet.

In March the Raiders signed a new lease agreement with the Coliseum Authority, which calls for them to play nine home games in Oakland during the 2019 season and have the option to renew the deal for the 2020 season if the new stadium in Las Vegas isn’t ready.

As part of the new lease agreement with the Raiders, the Coliseum Authority gets the full $1 million from Ring Central. Under previous deals the naming rights revenue was split between the Raiders and the authority and the A’s didn’t get anything.

Ring Central will have its name for as long as the A’s continue playing at the Coliseum. The A’s currently are negotiating a contract to build a privately-financed waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal, near Jack London Square, and hope to be playing there in 2023.

Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid, who’s the Coliseum Authority’s vice chair, said temporary Ring Central signs will be placed at the Coliseum next week and permanent signs will be placed there later.