The A's and Raiders yesterday "both agreed to short-term lease extensions" at O.co Coliseum that "buy time for East Bay leaders trying to keep both teams in Oakland well into the future," according to Matthew Artz of the OAKLAND TRIBUNE. The A's signed "a two-year extension" through '15, while the Raiders inked a "one-year extension" through next season. The deal "will require the A's to more than double their total payments" from $800,000 last season to $1.75M in each of the next two years. But the Raiders' total rent "will drop" from more than $3M this year to just under $1M next year. The lease extensions "offer little relief to city and county taxpayers who remain on the hook for renovations to the Coliseum made two decades ago to bring the Raiders back." As for the A's, East Bay leaders "are continuing with plans to redevelop the Coliseum complex as a privately-financed sports and entertainment center as well as a potential alternative stadium site" near Jack London Square. The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority Board of Commissioners "voted 7-1 to approve both deals." But commissioners acknowledged that they "had hoped to extract more concessions from the A's, who will continue to control valuable concessions rights at the Coliseum that grants them a share of proceeds from Raiders games." Commissioners "relented on their demands recently" after MLB "threatened to help the A's move" to AT&T Park (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 11/26). In S.F., Peter Fimrite notes the agreement allows the Raiders to "keep their training facility in Alameda and rent it for $525,000" if the team relocates in '15 (S.F. CHRONICLE, 11/26). The Coliseum Authority in a statement said that it would "continue discussing leases and stadium projects on the site with the clubs." Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley said, "We will use these lease terms to continue to work on a long-term solution that works for all parties" (USA TODAY, 11/26).
