Robert Nahas, 79; Developer Led Push for Oakland Coliseum

Robert Nahas, 79, the driving force behind the building of the Oakland Coliseum complex in the 1960s, died in his sleep Feb. 7 at his home in Palm Desert.

An immigrant shopkeeper’s son from the Midwest, Nahas went into the real estate field as a young man and gained success as a developer of shopping centers and housing in the Bay Area cities of Castro Valley and Orinda and in the Lake Tahoe area.

Known for his passion in promoting the East Bay, Nahas in the early 1960s was named chairman of the new Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Inc., a nonprofit corporation formed to create a sports and entertainment complex.

After successfully negotiating with the Raiders’ Al Davis, Nahas persuaded Charles O. Finley to move the Kansas City A’s to the West Coast. The $24-million Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum opened in 1966.

Nahas was chairman of R.T. Nahas Co. of Castro Valley, with affiliates in Idaho and Nevada. He was active in the Urban Land Institute for 50 years, and served as its president for two years.