Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf on Tuesday said that she is "closer than ever to a deal to keep the Raiders in town," according to a front-page piece by Rachel Swan of the S.F CHRONICLE. Schaaf was "upbeat about the city’s latest talks with a team of investors called Oakland City Pro Football Group LLC," led by Pro Football HOFer Ronnie Lott. Reps of Lott’s group were "meeting in closed session with the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to discuss the terms of leasing the Oakland Coliseum and Oracle Arena property, which is jointly owned by the county and Oakland." The meeting "came just days before the expiration of Lott’s memorandum of understanding with city and county officials -- the agreement that gave him 90 days to work on a project and a financial plan." Schaaf has "long said she will not commit public funds toward a new stadium." She "reiterated Tuesday that the city, however, would spend" $90M in public funds to "upgrade infrastructure on the Coliseum site but said she hopes to fund those improvements with revenue generated by the stadium project." She said that Oakland would "help bolster Lott’s investment by encouraging more development along the 800 acres of waterfront that border the Coliseum." Schaaf: "I’m respectful and sympathetic that [Raiders Owner] Mark Davis has gotten to a big point of frustration with Oakland. And it’s my job to bring him a real deal that is competitive with Las Vegas or any other market.” Swan notes the Las Vegas plans are "far from final," as NFL owners are "expected to vote on team relocations early next year." Schaaf insisted that Oakland has "ample time to firm up its stadium proposal before the vote takes place" (S.F CHRONICLE, 11/23).
MOVERS & SHAKERS? In Oakland, David DeBolt cites sources as saying that Lott and his partner, former NFLer Rodney Peete, are "working with money management firm Fortress Investment." Lott’s group "used to include" Fannie Mae BOD Chair Egbert Perry. Schaaf "rejected an offer from Perry and another group that did not include Lott to purchase the Coliseum site" for $167M (EAST BAY TIMES, 11/23). Meanwhile, Davis said that he "remains 'committed to Las Vegas' and is not swayed by Oakland’s attempts to prevent the NFL franchise from relocating." He said that the Raiders "are not part of" Schaaf and Lott's agreement. Las Vegas Sands Senior VP/Government Relations & Community Development Andy Abboud said that he "spoke with Davis on Tuesday and that the team’s focus is and will continue to be relocating to Las Vegas." Abboud said that Davis has called Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval to "state that on the record" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 11/23). In L.A., Vincent Bonsignore notes the Raiders "remain dubious anything can be worked out to keep them in Oakland." Despite Tuesday’s developments, they "steadfastly remain wary of a deal in which they would be secondary to an outside developer that theoretically would require money generated from the ancillary development surrounding the stadium to finance its part of the stadium funding" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 11/23).
