The 50,000-square-foot entertainment complex at 98 Broadway in Oakland closes August 2 after nearly 12 years, the second entertainment venue to shut at Jack London Square in a single year — part of a region-wide squeeze on independent venues.

The 50,000-square-foot entertainment complex at 98 Broadway — a sprawl of bowling lanes, arcade games, bocce courts, beer garden, and event hall that has anchored the Oakland waterfront for nearly 12 years — will permanently close on August 2, 2026. Management cited "persistent and significant drops in sales" over the past two years and "steadily rising costs" in the closure announcement, a combination that made the business no longer financially viable.

It's the second entertainment venue to go dark on this stretch of the Oakland waterfront within a single year. Tiger's Taproom, a beer bar at 308 Jackson St. in the same square, shut down on March 1 after 7.5 years; owner Brian Chan cited high costs, low foot traffic, and shifts in consumer spending. Between the two closures, Jack London Square also welcomed a new arrival: Dave & Buster's, the national chain, opened at 55 Harrison Street, a few blocks away.

Plank's closing statement thanked "guests, neighbors, team members, event hosts, families, and friends" for the run. Gift cards and game cards stop being honored on August 2; customers with events booked after that date are owed deposit refunds. What becomes of the 50,000 square feet at 98 Broadway has not been publicly announced.

The closures at Jack London Square are part of a documented squeeze on independent entertainment and gathering venues across the Bay Area in 2026. Oasis, an 11-year-old drag nightclub at 11th and Folsom in San Francisco's SoMa, shut January 1. Thee Parkside, a live music bar at 1600 17th St. in Potrero Hill, stopped hosting shows in March after its building sold for approximately $1.33 million to a developer planning a condo conversion — operator Malia Spanyol held a first right of refusal but could not match the bid. The owners of Bottom of the Hill, the rock venue at 1233 17th St. also in Potrero Hill, announced in January that they'll close December 31 after 35 years; they've cited roughly $34,000 a year in insurance costs as one driver, alongside a protected bike lane that reduced nearby parking and complicated band load-ins.

The National Independent Venue Association reported that only 36 percent of U.S. independent venues achieved profitability in 2024, even as in-person attendance recovered to roughly 78 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Revenue came back; costs climbed faster.

Until August 2, the lanes at 98 Broadway are still open.