The Athletic Club is back with a new team betting on Oakland

Timing determines performance in sports and can determine a sports bar’s success. The Athletic Club opened in 2018 at Grand Avenue and Webster Street during a period when Oakland still hosted three major professional teams and Uptown was thriving. After the Raiders left in 2019, the Warriors moved to the Chase Center, and Covid later damaged hospitality. The A’s then relocated to Sacramento. The Athletic Club persisted through later Oakland sports milestones, including Roots, Ballers, and Valkyries seasons. After the Super Bowl and amid upcoming World Cup events, the club closed. A 2025 crowdfunding effort to revamp it into a restaurant and bar did not reach its goal, and new partnerships were considered.

"Timing is everything in sports: major league hitters square up 100 mph fastballs, NFL quarterbacks connect with wide receivers on wheel routes, and NBA players execute a perfect pick-and-roll. Timing can also be crucial for a sports bar's success. A deep playoff run for a local team could mean a huge, albeit brief, spike in revenues."

"The Athletic Club, first opened in 2018 by Ezra Berman and Miles Palliser at the corner of Grand Avenue and Webster Street, has seen some of the best and worst times for Oakland sports. When it debuted, Oakland was still home to three major professional teams and the Uptown neighborhood was booming. Then the Raiders left town at the end of 2019, and the Warriors crossed the Bay to play in the Chase Center, right before Covid arrived to gut the hospitality industry."

"Next, after an awkward, acrimonious dance with the city, the A's decamped for Sacramento. The Athletic Club weathered all of these trials and lasted long enough to see the Roots move into the Coliseum, the Ballers come to Raimondi Park, and the Valkyries kick things off with the most successful inaugural season in the WNBA's history, backed by a fierce fan base rooted in Oakland."

"Then, right after the Super Bowl, with a U.S.-cohosted World Cup on the horizon (including games at Levi's Stadium in Santa Rosa), the Athletic Club shuttered. In 2025, Berman and Palliser launched a crowdfunding campaign to revamp The Athletic Club into a restaurant and bar in partnership with Parche and Jaji owners Paul Iglesias and Sophia Akbar, but the initiative fell short of its goal."

Read at www.berkeleyside.org