Oakland and Alameda County officials have revealed "up to"
$9.3M in new costs related to the Raiders return to Oakland,
according to Renee Koury of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. County
Auditor-Controller Patrick O'Connell said managers of the Oakland
Coliseum have requested an extra $4-6M for operating expenses
that "hadn't been figured into the cost of the deal." Another
expense is an additional payment to the Oakland Football
Marketing Association (OFMA) of $3.3M, which was approved by a
Joint Powers Authority, but is contingent on the group submitting
a new marketing plan. With "skepticism" surrounding OFMA's
"faltering effort" to sell PSLs, OFMA board members have promised
that with the $3.3M added to its previously allocated $1M for the
current fiscal year, they can produce revenues of $10.6M by
summer. O'Connell said it is "impossible" to determine how much
taxpayers will have to pay toward the new costs" (SAN JOSE
MERCURY NEWS, 10/10). In San Francisco, Peter Fimrite writes
OFMA "created another headache" as their "lack of consistent
leadership, a confused marketing plan and a staff unprepared to
deal with the public or solve lingering problems [has] angered
thousands of fans and created an atmosphere of hostility" (S. F.
CHRONICLE, 10/11).
