Governor Newsom’s revised state budget includes $125 million from Proposition 4 toward purchasing the former Golden Gate Fields racetrack for a new East Bay shoreline park, with the legislature’s budget vote three weeks away.
- The May 14 budget revision proposes $125 million from Proposition 4 (the 2024 climate bond) toward the $175 million purchase
- The California Legislature must pass the 2026-27 budget by June 15, the constitutional deadline
- Trust for Public Land holds an option on the 161-acre Berkeley-Albany site through the end of 2026
- The Stronach Group must demolish all existing structures on the property under the deal terms
SACRAMENTO – Three weeks out from the Legislature’s constitutional budget deadline, Governor Gavin Newsom has put $125 million on the line for the proposed Golden Gate Fields shoreline park.
The funding, included in Newsom’s May 14 budget revision for fiscal year 2026-27, would draw from Proposition 4, the $10 billion climate resilience and parks bond California voters approved in November 2024. Combined with $20 million already committed by the East Bay Regional Park District through 2008’s Measure WW, the state contribution would get Trust for Public Land within $30 million of the $175 million purchase price for the former racetrack.
Trust for Public Land plans to raise the remaining balance through private philanthropy before closing the deal in early 2027.
The June 15 Clock
The Newsom budget proposal does not fund anything by itself. Under Article IV, Section 12 of the California Constitution, the Legislature must pass the budget by June 15. If lawmakers approve the Proposition 4 allocation in their final budget package, the money flows to the parks acquisition. If they redirect it elsewhere — and there is competition for Proposition 4 dollars — the deal scrambles for replacement funding.
The 2026-27 fiscal year begins July 1.
The Property And The Deal
Golden Gate Fields occupies 161 acres along the eastern shoreline of San Francisco Bay, straddling Berkeley and Albany. Roughly 120 acres of the parcel sit in Albany, with the remaining 40 acres in Berkeley. The Stronach Group has owned the site since 1999 and operated California thoroughbred racing on the property until June 2024.
The final race went off on June 9, 2024, ending 83 years of horse racing at the track. The Stronach Group announced the closure in July 2023, citing a plan to consolidate its California operations at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia.
Trust for Public Land signed an option agreement with the Stronach Group in February 2026, giving the nonprofit an exclusive right to purchase the property for $175 million. The closing deadline is the end of 2026, with the title transfer to the East Bay Regional Park District expected in early 2027.
Under the deal terms, the Stronach Group is responsible for demolishing every structure on the property: the grandstands that seated roughly 8,000, the stable facilities built for 1,420 horses, and parking lots designed for more than 8,500 vehicles. Demolition contractors and timing have not been announced.
What The Park Would Connect
For the East Bay shoreline, the acquisition would close a gap. The new park would link existing public lands stretching from Richmond’s Point Pinole south past the Albany Bulb, Albany Beach, McLaughlin Eastshore State Park, and Point Isabel Regional Shoreline. About 8.5 miles of contiguous bay shoreline would become publicly accessible from end to end.
Guillermo Rodriguez, Trust for Public Land’s Vice President for the Pacific Region and California State Director, has framed the parcel as the missing piece of that shoreline. The East Bay Regional Park District would take ownership and manage the site, with a public planning process to follow on how the park is laid out. Officials have projected park opening roughly five years after the property transfer, putting public access around 2031 or 2032.
Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii has publicly backed the proposal. “I am excited to partner with the East Bay Regional Park District to engage our community in reimagining the former racetrack as a vibrant public space, expanding opportunities to gather in community and experience the beauty of our shoreline,” Ishii said in a statement earlier this year.
What Northern California Racing Lost
When Golden Gate Fields closed, it didn’t just take 161 acres of waterfront with it. It took dedicated thoroughbred racing in Northern California with it. Smaller fair-circuit racing meets in the region collapsed in the months that followed. The California Horse Racing Board denied applications from two fairs trying to schedule meets in 2026.
CHRB Vice-Chair Oscar Gonzales put it plainly at a March board meeting: “NorCal horsemen, numerous horse farms and county fairs were the sacrificial lamb so the Bay Area could have its park.”
The financial case for shuttering Northern California operations had been building for years. Josh Rubinstein, president of Del Mar racetrack in San Diego, told the CHRB that the northern circuit carried about $20 million in administrative costs a year. “The south is responsible for over 80 percent of those costs,” Rubinstein said.
Not Everyone Wants the Money Spent on a Park
The $125 million allocation isn’t free of competitors. A Solano County water coalition has publicly objected to using Proposition 4 funds for the park acquisition, arguing the money would deliver more long-term benefit if directed to Delta levee management instead. The Solano County Water Agency has been advocating for the state’s Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program in budget conversations.
The competition for Proposition 4 dollars will be sorted out by the legislative budget conference committee in the next three weeks.
What Happens Next
The June 15 vote is the next major checkpoint. If the $125 million stays in the final budget, Trust for Public Land has six months to raise the remaining $30 million from private donors before the December deal deadline. Closing follows in early 2027. Demolition follows that. The park opens, on current projections, sometime around 2031.
For now, the empty grandstand sits along the bay, waiting on Sacramento.
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