Goodell Visits Raiders, Discusses Future Stadium Options For Team

Goodell (c) Mingles With Amy Trask (l) And Tony La Russa Before Start Of Patriots-Raiders

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday attended the Patriots-Raiders game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, marking the first time the league commissioner had "set foot inside a Raiders stadium," and Goodell received a "warm reception from a longtime league combatant," Raiders Owner Al Davis, according to Nancy Gay of the S.F. CHRONICLE. But Goodell "offered no hope on the deplorable California stadium front, despite meet-and-greets" with Davis, Raiders Chief Exec Amy Trask and members of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority, the Oakland City Council and Alameda County Supervisors. Goodell reiterated that there are "no plans ... to replenish or replace" the G3 stadium-funding program, which is a "virtual death knell to any fantasies that the 42-year-old Oakland Coliseum will be replaced by something resembling a modern facility." But Goodell, who made the visit after Trask invited him during league meetings in the spring, "conceded the Oakland Coliseum also should be replaced." Goodell: "It's something that we've been meeting with a lot of people today about how to address that from a long-term standpoint. It's clear, and I think everyone accepts it, that something has to get done here with a new stadium at some point. And I've had a chance to talk to some of the leadership here about how we can help in that process." He said the league is "worried about the California market in general." Goodell: "If you look at our stadium situations -- San Diego is trying to address (its) stadium situation, San Francisco, the Oakland Raiders ... I think collectively we have to try to address these matters on a statewide level as well as in the local communities." Goodell said that a "common stadium facility in the Bay Area would be an ideal long-term solution," but Gay notes "given the history between the 49ers and Raiders and their respective fan bases, it's unlikely." Goodell yesterday met with Davis in the owner's box, as well as with fans in the Black Hole. Goodell also "spent a great deal of time on the field" with Davis' son, Mark Davis (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/15). In Sacramento, Jason Jones writes the "declining economy and potential labor issues don't make funding a stadium easy," and there is "always the question of whether the Raiders would return" to L.A. (SACRAMENTO BEE, 12/15).

WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE: In S.F., Ray Ratto wrote Goodell is "doing what no commissioner since [Davis] himself has done -- visit the NFL's last outpost." Ratto: "It may not be much more than a gesture that, yes, he is the commissioner of all 32 teams, but it's something" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/14). In California, Cam Inman notes during Goodell's visit, "not one shoe was thrown at him by the embedded press corps, or even the frustrated Raider Nation." Goodell "suffered enough Sunday by watching what we've all been subjected to since 2003: Terrible football from an overmatched Raiders squad, and a terrible stadium to watch that terrible football" (CONTRA COSTA TIMES, 12/15).

Neighboring City Could Sue Industry Over Proposed NFL Stadium

PLAN OF ACTION: In Southern California, Bethania Palma Markus reports Walnut, California, city officials will "begin interviewing attorneys as part of a plan to possibly sue neighboring Industry if it approves an environmental impact report [EIR] for a proposed NFL stadium." Officials said that once the EIR is certified, construction "can begin if the project is not delayed by litigation." City of Industry Planning Dir Mike Kissell said that a "supplemental EIR has been circulated, giving cities, entities and individuals the chance to comment with their concerns." Kissell added that an environmental consultant "must then respond to each comment, which is happening now" (WHITTIER DAILY NEWS, 12/15).