Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong Works to Save Oakland Venue
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, a Bay Area resident, has always been vocal about his love for the city of Oakland. Now, he’s working to help save a venue in the west end of the city from undergoing foreclosure.
The venue, Eli’s Mile High Club, has been in operation since 1974, though it has changed ownership multiple times with looming threats of closure. While the space is currently owned by Matthew Patane for the last nine years, it has faced struggles since its patio space closed last November due to zoning issues.
Patane has since created a GoFundMe campaign.
“Our patio generated a huge source of income and has impacted the many ways we serve our community,” the venue shared in the campaign, noting that they’ve hosted events in the past featuring local artists, businesses, and chefs, as well as private events and local festivals.
“At this time, Eli’s is in danger of closing its doors. We are reaching out to our beloved community for help with supporting this historic venue through recently imposed city restrictions and zoning issues on its ability to ‘Make Fun Easy’ and reopen the Eli’s patio.”
Armstrong shared the GoFundMe on his personal Instagram and said that he’s donated. As of Thursday afternoon, the campaign has garnered over $43,000.
This isn’t the first time Armstrong has shown his love for the city; he has supported the Oakland A’s throughout his career, and after announcing their move to Las Vegas, Armstrong spoke his mind, stating that, “I hate Las Vegas. It’s the worst shithole in America.”
He has since purchased a stake in the Oakland Ballers, an independent minor league team in the Pioneer League.
“Sports in the Bay Area have been transforming over the last couple of years,” Armstrong said in a statement. “We’ve had some emotional goodbyes to teams we grew up with, but recently there has been a major shift. The Oakland Ballers and the Oakland Roots & Soul represent everything I love and grew up on in the Bay Area. The welcoming atmosphere, DIY attitude and the people behind it make me proud to be an investor and support the next generation of teams kids in the bay will be proud of.”
