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Oakland is working on a stadium proposal to keep the Raiders from potentially leaving.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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The NFL has talked directly with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf about the league taking the role of developer of a potential stadium and mixed-used development, the latest signal that, despite aggressive moves by Las Vegas to lure the Raiders, powerful forces within the sport would like to keep the team in Northern California.
According to sources familiar with the talks, NFL executive vice president Eric Grubman raised the concept with the mayor, though he did not indicate that the league has committed to assume that role, at least yet. Grubman declined to comment.
Owners meet next week in Houston, where the Oakland stadium situation is on the agenda and the developer issue potentially could be discussed. By then, Oakland may at long last have the rough outline of a proposal that envisions hundreds of millions of public dollars, funded by the sale of the stadium land to a developer, perhaps the NFL, and borrowing against future mixed-use tax revenue, said a source close to the city.
While the NFL has raised the idea that it could be the developer, the latest outreach comes as Oakland is in a race against Las Vegas, which not only is moving rapidly to approve up to $750 million of public funds, but is exclusively negotiating with the Raiders, who are not part of the Oakland discussions. A special session of the Nevada Legislature is expected today to vote on the funding, believed to be the most public money ever for a sports venue.
As a result, an unusual dynamic is playing out as the team engages in talks with Las Vegas, while the hometown and its advisers talk to the NFL and key owners. Nevertheless, experts say that Oakland still has the advantage because the league is predisposed to keep the team there.
“Now that the 49ers have moved to Santa Clara, the north Bay Area, which includes San Francisco, Oakland, Marin County, Walnut Creek, Alameda County, some of the wealthiest areas in the world, with a terrific corporate base, is one of the great territories for any sports business,” said Marc Ganis, a sports consultant with particularly close ties to the NFL. “That would be a great loss for the NFL as a whole.”
Asked why the NFL, which allowed the St. Louis Rams to relocate to Los Angeles, wouldn’t allow the Raiders to go to Vegas, he replied, “There was a compelling league interest in L.A. [the second-largest market in the U.S.], not so in the 40th-largest market in the country, even with the glitz and glamour.”
As a result, Ganis believes Oakland needs only a suitable offer, not a Las Vegas-size one, to win over the league.
It is thought Oakland is looking at an amount in the $400 million range, though the politics of pledging any funds to sports stadiums is politically problematic in California. That would leave about $800 million for the team if the stadium costs $1.2 billion. The team is eligible for $300 million of financing from the league for an Oakland stadium, and the remainder could be borrowed using personal seat license, sponsorship and other expected commercial inventory as collateral.
A spokeswoman for Schaaf did not reply for comment.
