The financial situation at the Oakland Coliseum "is
looking worse" as Oakland and Alameda County "may have to
kick in about" $6M this year "on top of" the $8M already
budgeted "to bail out" the complex, according to a front-
page report by Rick DelVecchio of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Both
the city and the county "have earmarked cash" to cover
Coliseum deficits for the next two years, but the "deepening
hole" may mean that the "cushion will disappear sooner than
expected." Oakland City Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente:
"We have $20-million-plus. I was counting on that $20
million to last a couple of years, at least." DelVecchio
adds that if the surplus funds are "exhausted," money "will
have to come from" general funds, and the cost of any
bailout "would be split" by the city and county. The
deficit comes "partly" as a result of the "slow sales" of
Raiders PSLs, which, with "more than" 20,000 available, have
"been abysmal." From July 1 to September 30, the Coliseum's
revenue from PSL sales totaled $1.9M, "just" 28% of what the
Coliseum Authority had budgeted. In the first quarter, the
Coliseum "ran" $11.8M "in the red" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/23).
