Golden Gate Fields park plan nears $125M state vote
SB 113 would amend the state's 2026-27 budget if approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in the coming weeks.
California lawmakers are set to vote on $125 million in state funding to help turn Golden Gate Fields into a public park in Berkeley and Albany.
On Saturday, Sen. Jesse Arreguin's office unveiled a bill featuring the proposed allocation, which was originally announced in May.
In March, Trust for Public Land (TPL) said it would buy the former racetrack and turn it over to the East Bay Regional Park District for use as a public park.
In total, TPL must secure $175 million to complete the purchase by the deadline in early 2027.
The East Bay Regional Park District has also committed $20 million to the project from Measure WW.
Meanwhile, site work has already begun on the Golden Gate Fields property in Albany, where scaffolding went up several weeks ago.
Lawmakers are set to vote on the bill by Monday, Arreguin's office said, adding: "We expect there to be no issue with the bill passing."
SB 113 would amend the state's 2026-27 budget if approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom by the end of September.
As proposed, the Golden Gate Fields allocation would come from Proposition 4 climate bond funds.
The total could be reduced if philanthropic dollars or other funding sources are identified by the end of the year.
"With this $125 million investment, Golden Gate Fields can go from a shuttered racetrack to one of the great waterfront parks in California," said Arreguin in a prepared statement. "We're not stopping until the vision is complete."
Trust for Public Land did not respond Saturday to a request for comment. It has not posted a statement about Golden Gate Fields since May.
But it has created a page on its website for the Golden Gate Fields project — in line with similar pages created by the park district and the city of Albany.
Golden Gate Fields tax impacts would be significant
Albany's Golden Gate Fields page takes the closest look at the financial impacts of losing track revenues — unsurprising since the racetrack was among the city's top commercial taxpayers.
The track historically brought in millions of dollars each year in tax revenue, helping support a broad range of city and school district services.
The exact figure paid has not been released, but one estimate put it at more than $4 million.
"If the track is sold, the biggest financial concern for the City would be if the property were sold to a tax-exempt entity," the city said in May.
According to Albany's analysis, the Golden Gate Fields property generates about $1.1 million in special revenues each year for the city and about $700,000 for the Albany Unified School District.
The majority of that money "would simply go away" if the property becomes tax-exempt.
For now, the revenues continue to fund several significant services, Albany wrote.
- Measure K (EMS Services): $400,000 (20% of the total from the tax)
- Street and Storm Drain parcel tax: $287,000 (nearly 22% of the total)
- Library parcel taxes: $100,000
- Storm Drain Fee: $54,000
"The loss of these revenues would reduce the City’s ability to provide a variety of services unless other funding sources can be found and substituted," the city wrote.
In addition to parcel taxes and undisclosed property taxes, the track also generated $150,000 to $300,000 each year for Albany's general fund, the city said: "This came from a combination of racetrack, sales, business license, and utility users' taxes."
In fiscal year 2023-24, the track paid about $400,000 in "non-property tax general fund revenues," about 1.3% of the city's total revenue.
The Scanner has asked the city of Berkeley for comparable information and will update this story if it becomes available.
