Raiders Owner Mark Davis on Wednesday sounded "optimistic" about the city of Oakland's "humongous Coliseum City idea," which would include as many as three new venues centered around O.co Coliseum, according to Tim Kawakami of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. Davis said of Oakland's City Council on Tuesday approving the addition of several potential investors to the project, "I want to see what happens from here, but maybe it's a ray of hope and sunshine." He knows that there are "many, many hurdles to any project -- especially one as grand as the three-team Coliseum City idea." Kawakami writes, "I took four clear thoughts from my talk with Davis." Davis is "emotionally and practically tethered to the Coliseum site," and while the Raiders' lease at the stadium expires after this season, he "wants any new extension to include tangible steps toward a Coliseum re-build/re-do." Davis likely "will conclude that the Coliseum City idea is the last real shot at his preferred site, and he likes that they've brought in some new financial movers and shakers." Kawakami: "My conclusion: This is essentially the last go at this for Davis in the Bay Area." If the Coliseum City idea does not work, then the "likeliest scenario is for Davis to sign some sort of short extension with the Coliseum and then take a hard look" at moving back to L.A. (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 10/18). Kawakami added the Coliseum City concept is the "best chance for Mark Davis to have a new stadium with him being the principal owner" of the team. Kawakami: "He doesn't have a ton of money that he can put into it. He doesn't want to sell parts of the team to finance it" ("Yahoo SportsTalk Live," CSN Bay Area, 10/17).
