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Back In Black? NFL's Grubman Says Oakland's Stadium Efforts Are "Going Backward"

The drive to keep the Raiders in Oakland "seems to be going in the wrong direction," according to Matt Barrows of the SACRAMENTO BEE. NFL Exec VP/Business Ventures Eric Grubman said, "Each time I’ve gone there, I’ve heard that the promise is right around the corner of a massive development ... that will include substantial proceeds from a developer, a third party or fourth party or multiple parties of developers." Grubman: "I’ve heard that for three of four years and it hasn’t been produced. And we now have lost all that time. The time has shrunk and no results have been produced; that, to me, is going backward" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 5/21) In S.F., Eric Branch notes NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday at the Spring owners meeting was asked was asked if Oakland’s silence "was a source of frustration." Goodell said, "I don’t know if it’s a point of frustration. But it’s certainly a point of information.” Branch notes Raiders Owner Mark Davis said of his meeting last week with Oakland City Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney, "She legitimately wants to work something out." Branch: "Still, the lack of a proposal could be telling. And it has clearly irked Goodell" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/21). CSNBAYAREA.com's Scott Bair wrote there has been "a lot of doom and gloom surrounding Oakland stadium efforts, which is exactly what the NFL wants." The league's priority is "to keep teams put, but those efforts don’t last forever." Grubman said, “I feel like our responsibilities are discharged by giving the home markets the best possible chance to put up a proposal that allows them to keep their team. It’s important to the league and the fans. At the same time, you have to recognize that things just can’t get done. It’s incumbent on all of us to help a club that doesn’t want to fall behind the rest of the league" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 5/20).

SANTA CLARITY: Grubman, when asked about the possibility of the Raiders sharing Levi's Stadium with the 49ers, said that the venue is "equipped to handle two teams but that it’s not one of the myriad scenarios the league is studying." Davis on Tuesday said that he "isn’t interested in playing at Levi’s" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 5/20). The S.F. CHRONICLE's Branch writes Davis "clearly believes the Raiders would play second fiddle in Santa Clara." Davis said of the proposed Chargers-Raiders stadium in Carson, "There’s not going to be a No. 1 team and No. 2 team." He added, "There’s going to be two No. 1 teams, if in fact that’s how it happens. We’re designing it together. We’re making all the decisions together. San Francisco did a phenomenal job of getting something done in California. ... But it’s not a Raider type of area. It’s just not going to work for the Raiders" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/21).

TO BOLT, OR NOT TO BOLT? In San Diego, Kevin Acee reports the Chargers "say they need time to vet the proposal before committing to beginning negotiations with the city and county" for a new stadium. Mayor Kevin Faulconer has "suggested a June 1 start date for those talks." Chargers Chair Dean Spanos on Tuesday night said that he was "unaware of that request." Acee writes when and if the Chargers come to the negotiating table and how those talks progress "could depend in part on how much of a starting point they think the task force report provides." Spanos: "I’ve always said, and I maintain the fact we want to stay in San Diego. We’re committed to keep trying to see if there is a viable solution.” He added, "This is all going to come down to: Can we find a viable solution from a financing perspective?" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/21). Spanos’ son, A.G., who this week was named President of Business Operations, said, “I’m not the spokesperson for the stadium issues, and I don’t really want to add to the rhetoric out there. But absolutely growing up in San Diego I want to see the team stay” (ESPN.com, 5/20). USA TODAY’s Jarrett Bell writes Dean Spanos “personifies the uncertainty and shifting winds of the race" to L.A. like "few, if any, others.” While Spanos “continues to pledge allegiance to San Diego, the actions say otherwise.” He has been “trying to get a new stadium in San Diego for 14 years … and this time is the first time he has received such an offer.” But it “might be too late.” If Rams Owner Stan Kroenke’s deal “goes through and the Chargers are not” the other L.A. team, Spanos “contends it would have ‘a dramatic impact on the financial situation for us in San Diego'” (USA TODAY, 5/21).

HEAD OF THE CLASS: In St. Louis, Jim Thomas writes there is “no doubt” that the plan to build a riverfront stadium in the city “has gotten the attention of the league.” There also is “no doubt that St. Louis remains far ahead of the other ‘home markets’ trying to keep their teams from leaving -- Oakland and San Diego.” Grubman said, “I would categorize St. Louis as having very capable people working on the project. And I would categorize them as having put some of the pieces in place. We’ve been working with them. ... Getting stadiums done, though, is something that’s very, very hard. It’s very complicated. And you don’t count anything unless it’s fully done and occupied” (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/21).

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