There will be pro sports at the Oakland Coliseum after the A’s leave, as Oakland’s men’s professional soccer team the Oakland Roots will play their home games there starting in 2025.

When news broke last week that the soon-to-depart Oakland A’s had sold off their stake in the Oakland Coliseum, we mentioned the likelihood that the stadium could still be used by men’s pro soccer team the Oakland Roots, and their pre-professional sister women's soccer team the Oakland Soul. The Oakland Roots side of that deal became official Monday morning, as KTVU reports the Roots have signed a $3 million deal to play their home games at the Oakland Coliseum starting in 2025. The Roots currently play at California State University, East Bay, the Soul play at Merritt College.

The video above announces the team’s new digs, though the video seems more focused on the venue’s baseball history than its soccer future. And honestly, the video's line that “Here, there’s always room at the top” comes off as an unflattering reminder of the A’s long-running attendance woes at the Coliseum.

Still, the news comes as a welcome distraction for Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, who can try to paint this as some sort of “Oakland on the upswing” story while she battles a recall effort and deals with the fallout of an FBI raid on her home.

“We are honored to be able to play our 2025 season in such an iconic venue,” Oakland Roots president Lindsay Barenz said in a statement. “We’re proud to ensure pro sports stay at the Coliseum next year.”

Obviously, the 63,000-seat Oakland Coliseum is a little too large for an Oakland Roots soccer team that averages only about 4,000 attendees per home game. But as the Bay Area News Group explains, the team has plans to build a new 10,000 seat soccer stadium on an area of the stadium’s parking lot. The team has been working on moving that proposal forward for about a year now.

The Oakland Roots are a pro team, were founded in 2018, and play in the Division II USL Championship league. The Oakland Soul are currently a pre-professional team, though plan to move into the new professional women’s USL Super League next season. Neither team plays in the most prominent US soccer leagues, which are Major League Soccer for men, and the National Women's Soccer League for women.

The just-sold Oakland Coliseum will soon be owned entirely by the African American Sports & Entertainment Group (AASEG). In addition to the Malibu Lot stadium, the group has plans to redevelop the entire Coliseum site for future sporting events, including a possible NFL expansion team.

Meanwhile, the Oakland Roots’ ownership group has some big names like former Oakland Raider Marshawn Lynch, Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong, and Dallas Mavericks coach (and Oakland native) Jason Kidd.

Related: A’s Sell Their Share of the Oakland Coliseum to Black-Owned Development Group for $125 Million [SFist]

Image: @Kaplan4Oakland via Twitter