Raiders Owner Mark Davis is "exploring his options for a long-term stadium solution inside the Bay Area market and beyond," according to Scott Bair of CSNBAYAREA.com. A source said that the Raiders have "started discussing a short-term lease" to play the '16 season at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders have "played the last two seasons on one-year lease extensions at O.co Coliseum, and securing another one" gives the team "maximum freedom to explore future options inside and outside the market." They would again "be free agents this time next year, giving them flexibility to explore new stadium options in the East Bay or elsewhere" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 1/28). Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf on Friday said that there have been "no formal stadium discussions with the Raiders since NFL owners earlier this month dashed the team's immediate hopes" of moving to L.A. But Schaaf added that she "remained hopeful a deal can be reached" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 1/30). CSNBAYAREA.com's Bair wrote the Chargers' decision to play in San Diego next year "temporarily closes two markets" that the Raiders "favor most outside of Oakland." Davis "obviously covets a chance to reap financial windfall of an L.A. move, and a tenant relationship in Inglewood would allow him to join the Rams without needing oodles of cash to do it." In recent weeks, sources have said that the Raiders "would be interested in San Diego should the Chargers leave town." Right now, the Chargers "lay claim to both of those markets." Davis has also "explored San Antonio, but it still seems like an unlikely option given his preference to remain in the West," and Las Vegas "seems like a pipe dream given Nevada’s sports gambling industry and the NFL’s aversion to it" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 1/29).
ABOUT THAT PIPE DREAM...: NFL.com's Albert Breer obtained a memo sent out by the NFL to the PR directors for all 32 teams regarding the Raiders-Las Vegas story. It reads, in part, "If your club owner or executives are asked about this, there is no need to comment. If any comment is offered, please keep the following points in mind." Those points are that, first, "All decisions regarding the location of teams are made by the full membership." Second, "No proposal [has been] made to the league." And finally, "There is no prohibition under league rules on a team moving to any particular city. Any proposal for relocation would be evaluated based on the same standards as apply to any proposed move" (NFL.com, 1/30). In Oakland, Matthew Artz wrote the prospect of the Raiders moving to Las Vegas "was quickly dismissed by many NFL watchers familiar with the league's unease with legal sports gambling" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 1/31). ESPN’s Dan Graziano said, “I don’t see any way the league ever votes to allow a team in Las Vegas. ... I don’t think there are 24 owners that like this idea, and I don’t think that Mark Davis is the owner to deliver it the way Stan Kroenke was able to deliver Los Angeles sort of through force" ("NFL Insiders," ESPN, 1/29). SI's Phil Taylor added, "There’s still enough traditional owners, old-fashioned owners, who’d have a real problem with having a franchise in Las Vegas.” Taylor: “I don’t think Mark Davis has the juice or the money to override all that and muscle his way there” ("Sports Talk Live," CSN Bay Area, 1/29).
HIGH-STAKES POKER: ESPN's Dan Le Batard said while he does not believe the NFL will "ever see a football team in Vegas," he predicts fans will "see other cities continue to get pillaged by the NFL with this threat” (“Highly Questionable,” ESPN, 1/29). Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio said, "This is a leverage play against Oakland. Whether its San Antonio, San Diego, Sacramento or any other city in the United States, Las Vegas is a squeeze against Oakland to try to come up with some public money” (“PFT,” NBC Sports Network, 1/29).
AS FOR OAKLAND....: Schaaf talked to KTVU-Fox and said she was “very pleased that the NFL saw the potential in Oakland and is giving us more time." Schaaf: "We’re very aware that the clock is ticking and we have a lot of work to do to convince Mark Davis that this is the permanent home for the Raiders.” She said the city is “very excited to have the opportunity over this next year to really sit down, dig deep, roll up our sleeves and show the Raiders that there are creative ways to utilize development value to really fill that gap and get the stadium done without a direct public subsidy (KTVU-Fox, 1/31).
JUMPING IN THE JEAN POOL: USA TODAY's Brent Schrotenboer notes Davis has "steadfastly rejected the possibility of Levi's Stadium and instead hoped to build a separate stadium in Oakland." There are "plenty of superficial reasons for the Raiders to hate the idea of moving into Levi’s Stadium," including red stadium seats and "pride." But Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews said that none of that "should stand in the way of an attractive business deal for both teams." Even Raiders fans "say Levi’s Stadium beats the alternatives outside of Oakland" (USA TODAY, 2/1).
