Cal Donors Place Two Giant, Interesting Billboards in East Bay

If you are driving down I-880 the next few weeks, you may be startled to see a huge billboard that shows Oski representing Cal football, waving good-bye to a couple of airplanes and proclaiming “We’re Not Leaving.”

The fact that the East Bay is no longer home to a team from one of the four major pro sports has become a marketing tool for Cal football.

With the support and funding of some Cal donors, giant billboards will be in front of the Oakland Arena and at the Oakland airport for the next month starting today (Monday, August 4) bearing this message:

A's & Raider Fans You Still Have a Home.

See Our Billboards @ The Coliseum & OAK Airport Starting 8/4/25.#GoBears pic.twitter.com/aBPUhoxYCL
— California Legends (@ca_legends_) August 2, 2025

And we’re talking big. The billboard along I-880 is a rotating digital billboard 60 feet high.

Last year, a few Cal donors made it possible to have "Thank Y'all for the Invitation" billboards placed in various ACC markets around the country.

Now they are going local with this campaign to market Cal football. The package was presented to Cal officials, but, according to Kevin Kennedy, who was the president of the California Legends Collective, this billboard project is funded entirely by Cal donors while the university bears no responsibility for the message.

The idea is simple. Not long ago, the East Bay was home to teams in three of the four major sports – the Golden State Warriors of the NBA, the Oakland Raiders of the NFL and the Oakland A’s of Major League Baseball.

The Warriors moved to San Francisco in 2019. The Raiders left for Las Vegas in 2020. The A’s moved to Sacramento for the 2025 season and will play there for three seasons before moving to Las Vegas in 2028.

The Warriors remain in the Bay Area, but the other two franchises do not, and the East Bay is left with few pro sports teams, none from a major sport.

Supporters are hoping that maybe Cal football can fill that void as it competes for the entertainment dollar in an area where there are numerous entertainment options.

At least that’s the message.

The Golden Bears averaged just over 39,000 fans for its football games in 2024, but the games against Miami and Stanford were sellouts. Cal performed well in both, nearly upsetting eighth-ranked Miami and defeating Stanford.

The Bears wound up with a losing record (6-7) even though they scored more points than their opponents over the 13 games combined.

The financial demands on Cal athletics have increased in this new world of college sports. Starting in 2025-26, colleges are allowed to pay their athletes up to $20.5 million. Most of that money is expected to come from donors or increased revenue.

Kennedy ended his announcement of the campaign with this message:

Hopefully this will help continue the re-branding of Cal as a fun school as opposed to a sonorous academic monolith. And, more importantly, hopefully it will help get some east bay residents who may be missing the chance to watch big time sports live to head over to Berkeley this fall. Come on down! We'd love to welcome you to the site of The Play and the home of The Axe.

All Raiders and A's refugees welcome!

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