NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "has been making calls pushing the idea of letting a predominantly African American investment group," led by Pro Football HOFer Ronnie Lott, "help build a new stadium for the Raiders in Oakland," according to Matier & Ross of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has said she would “not meet with any developer for this project unless they are brought to me by the Raiders, and I have asked the City Council to do the same.” Then "came the Goodell calls, including to Schaaf." Now, Schaaf is "scheduled to meet with Lott’s group this week." A separate meeting "is planned between the developers and members" of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. Asked what triggered her turnaround, Schaaf said, “I am encouraged by the team (Lott) has assembled. My recent conversations with Commissioner Goodell and others have given me confidence it’s time to continue our conversations.” A source said that the Raiders "may be willing to work with the Lott group, assuming it can come up with" the other $400M "needed to fill out the stadium financing." The ownership part "is attractive to Goodell, because the NFL is the only major sports league in the U.S. that doesn’t have African Americans represented among team owners" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/6). Schaaf: "I’ve learned a lot about the challenges and benefits of sports teams and sports facilities within your boundaries. But I am actually very optimistic about the future of Oakland as a continued sports powerhouse and sports capital. The Oakland A’s have stopped their search outside our boundaries and have made an unequivocal commitment to remaining in this city and building a new ballpark. And we are making tremendous progress with the Oakland Raiders.” She added, “We’re more optimistic about the progress with the Raiders despite other talks and rumors" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/5).
PAINT IT BLACK: Raiders Owner Mark Davis on Friday said that he "wants Las Vegas to be home" for the team. Davis: “It’s always been a city that’s always intrigued my family. ... We are serious. Right now, I’m focused on Las Vegas. We think it could make a great marriage with Las Vegas and the Raiders." He added, "The main thing is finding out if the public contribution is going to be there. Whatever private money is needed, we’ll come up with that" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 6/4). Las Vegas Sands Senior VP/Government Relations & Community Development Andy Abboud, who has taken the lead on landing a new stadium, said the group has not sought support from other owners yet because "we want to get the stadium financing first so the Raiders can actually file their application and determine what the best strategy is to talk to the owners." Abboud: "That is a very tight, eclectic group and our view is that’s a peer-to-peer lobbying effort. We will be as helpful as we need to be or stay away as far as we need to." When asked what the season-ticket base for a Las Vegas team would look like, Abboud said, "We’re setting realistic goals. We don’t think it’s going to be an outrageous sum of money; we won’t be charging what they will in L.A. or in San Francisco" (MMQB.SI.com, 6/3).
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE?: PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio reported speculation "recently has emerged in San Diego that if the Chargers’ preferred downtown 'convadium' plan becomes impractical or otherwise unworkable, the Chargers would accept a stadium at the Mission Valley site as a fallback," but the Chargers "are making it known that this is not the case." Chargers Chair Dean Spanos on Friday "sent a letter" to former San Diego City Council member Donna Frye stating that there "will be no 'pivoting' back to the Mission Valley site." Spanos: “We did not choose downtown over Mission Valley casually. Downtown is a plan that can work for the community and our fans" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 6/3).
