Raiders officials on Thursday announced the team officially has "signed a lease to stay in Oakland this year," according to Rachel Swan of the S.F. CHRONICLE. The agreement, which includes one-year options for '17 and '18, comes the "week before the Feb. 17 expiration date of the Raiders' current lease." The Raiders also hired former 49ers CFO and Exec VP/Development Larry MacNeil, who "was an architect for the Levi's Stadium deal," to "represent its interests in negotiations with Oakland and Alameda County." Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty "was optimistic that the new lease would give the Raiders 'an opportunity to talk about other things' with officials from the city and county -- including a financing plan for a new football stadium." Raiders Owner Mark Davis "made it clear" that the Raiders "expect heavy public subsidies to build a stadium" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/12). Davis said, "I don't think I've ever once said I wasn't interested in Oakland. My heart is here in Oakland." While terms of the lease agreement were not released, Davis said that they "are similar to previous lease extensions" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/12). The San Jose Mercury News’ Tim Kawakami said once it was determined the Raiders were not going to L.A., O.co Coliseum was the only place to play. Kawakami: "Now you’ve got another year, get progress to something real in this year." Kawakami said the Raiders moving to San Diego was not likely, but Davis "wants it as an option." Kawakami: "He sure wants us to believe it could happen. ... He's trying to leverage the L.A./San Diego option as much as he can" (“Sports Talk Live,” CSN Bay Area, 2/11).
THE PERFECT FIT: ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said most people want to "see the Raiders in Oakland -- maybe not the owner, but everybody else wants to see that." Kornheiser: "It appears to be a perfect marriage of fans and team and tradition and all of that. ... But you have to look at the history of the Raiders, the recent history. Everything about it screams, 'We are not staying.'” ESPN's Michael Wilbon said, “The problem is bigger than just whether Oakland wants to keep them. California -- the state of -- doesn't have that kind of money.” He suggested if the NFL "really wants the Raiders to stay in California, why don't they build the Raiders a stadium, or at least subsidize it” ("PTI," ESPN, 2/11).
DAVIS CALLS OUT A'S: CSNBAYAREA.com's Scott Bair wrote toward the end of Thursday's press conference, Davis put the A's "in the crosshairs," claiming the MLB team is "impeding real stadium progress in Oakland." Davis said, "There's an elephant in the room, and that's the Oakland A's. They have to make a commitment to what they want to do." The A's signed a 10-year lease extension with O.co Coliseum in '14, but Davis said that the agreement "has hurt development prospects on the Coliseum site." Davis "wants the A's to state their long-term plans for a new ballpark, and where that will be." Until that happens, Davis indicated that everyone "is stuck in neutral." He said, "They signed a 10-year lease while we were negotiating with Oakland officials, and it kind of put somebody right in the middle of things. There isn't much you can do. They've tied our hands behind our back." Bair noted Davis "hopes the A's and Raiders can work together under his vision for the Coliseum site." The A's "prefer to play at O.co Coliseum and build a ballpark next to it," while the Raiders "want to tear down the aging sports venue, play off site and return to a newly minted site that features a football stadium and a new ballpark." Davis said, "We like the game day experience of tailgating on that parking lot. We don't want to give that up." However, Davis also does not "want to play under endless construction." Davis: "What I do not want to do is build a football stadium in a corner of a parking lot while the Oakland Coliseum is still standing and, once we have a brand new venue, we begin to tear down the old stadium and build a new ballpark, disrupting the ingress, egress, parking and tailgating experience for Raiders fans on game day" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 2/11).
