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Oakland Officials Give Go-Ahead To Negotiate With Lott's Group To Build Raiders Stadium

The Oakland City Council and Alameda County officials yesterday "gave the go-ahead" to negotiate with Pro Football HOFer Ronnie Lott and his group to build a stadium aimed at keeping the Raiders in Oakland, according to a front-page piece by DeBolt & Fraley of the EAST BAY TIMES. Lott’s proposal is "probably Oakland’s last shot" at keeping the Raiders from leaving town, but questions "remain whether it will pass muster with the Raiders and the NFL owners." Prominent NFL and NBAers were at yesterday's hearings, which also "drew impassioned support for the plan" from Raiders fans, as well as "concern from two county supervisors over how to handle the existing debt" at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum site. The City Council at about 10:15pm PT voted 7-0, with Oakland City Councilmember Abel Guillen abstaining, to "approve a term sheet with Lott’s investment group and enter into deeper negotiations over the details of the stadium plan during the next 60 days." Sources said that the $1.3B development would be financed with $200M each from the city and the NFL, $300M from the Raiders and the rest from Lott’s investment group. The city’s share would consist of $200M in bond money "toward infrastructure improvements, which would have no effect on the general fund." The Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved the plan 3-1, with Supervisor Keith Carson "casting the lone no vote, saying he supported Lott’s plan but was concerned" about where the nearly $200M would come from to "repay outstanding debt on the Coliseum given all the county’s other commitments" (EAST BAY TIMES, 12/14). Lott: "We still have a long ways to go. We still have to convince the NFL. We still have to convince (Raiders owner) Mark Davis. We've got a long ways to go but today is a great day and a great moment for Raider Nation" (AP, 12/14). Lott's effort has included its share of celebrity support, with MC Hammer tweeting, "Thank you Ronnie Lott and Rodney Peete ... Oakland City Council and Alameda County #Raiders." Actress Holly Robinson Peete: "So proud of these guys!! Working hard keep the @RAIDERS where they belong! #LetsBuildIt @RodneyPeete9 @RonnieLottHOF @MarcusAllenHOF ... Fighting for #RaiderNation" (TWITTER.com, 12/13).

LONG WAY TO GO: USA TODAY's Tom Pelissero reports NFL Exec VP/Business Ventures Eric Grubman "raised significant concerns about the viability of the plan." Those concerns "include the involvement of a private investor group that would have an exclusive and confidential 60-day window to negotiate with the city and county on the land it would develop as part of the project." Grubman said, "The intentions are good. But I don’t think there’s been any progress that suggests a breakthrough anytime soon.” Grubman said that there is "no deal on the table for the team or league to consider right now," adding that there are "parallels to past failed efforts involving a Raiders stadium plan and a private investor," including developer Floyd Kephart last year. Grubman: "It’s a mistake to add third parties and fourth parties to what really should be a two-party negotiation. In this instance, you put someone who needs to profit and you may put other motivations in there. The core task is to find something that works for the Raiders and the community, and when you put developers in or other third parties, then you’re going to have there the things that are important to them in the conversation. And that’s what happened two years ago and one year ago and I think that’s what happening now" (USA TODAY, 12/14).

LATE TO THE PARTY: In Oakland, Marcus Thompson II writes two "glaring absences" in the new proposal are Davis and the NFL, as "until at least one of those parties are involved, any proposal is irrelevant." The Raiders and league officials met Monday. Thompson writes Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Lott "talked about why the deal works for the Raiders" and why the NFL "should drop the Las Vegas plans." It is a "safe bet that Davis prodded the proposal, angling for sweeteners and perks and give-aways." But the "idea of them critiquing the plan and bargaining for more, while people struggle to find affordable housing, just feels wrong." It "should be the other way around," with Schaaf "probing for sweeteners and perks and give-aways." In light of the recent warehouse fire in Oakland and the "real issues undergirding the tragedy, the Raiders and the NFL diverting municipalities to do its bidding seems so unsavory" (EAST BAY TIMES, 12/14).

SHARE IT LIKE BECKHAM? In Oakland, John Hickey noted the Raiders' stadium deal put together by Las Vegas, Clark County and the state government in Nevada "not only is beckoning" to Davis but to Miami FC Owner David Beckham. Beckham bought the franchise in '14 "with the expectation of putting it in Miami." However, the first three stadium sites "didn’t come together, and the plan for a fourth, in the Miami enclave of Overtown, is only partially complete." Las Vegas-based blogger Joe Arrigo on Sunday said Beckham is "focusing on owning an MLS expansion team in Las Vegas and no longer in Miami.” However, on Monday, Miami-based Schwartz Media Strategies President Tadd Schwartz, whose company speaks on behalf of ownership group Miami Beckham United, "threw cold water on that speculation" (EAST BAY TIMES, 12/13).

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