The OAKLAND TRIBUNE obtained a letter yesterday from 49ers
Owner Eddie DeBartolo that "assured" Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris
that the 49ers "would not stand in the way" of the Raiders' move.
DeBartolo: "The San Francisco 49ers have not and will not act as
obstructionists in the East Bay's effort to secure the Raiders"
(OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 7/20).
REPORTS OF SUCCESS EXAGGERATED? Raiders ticket chief Marc
Ganis said yesterday that the team "has probably not received
enough season ticket applications to fill the Coliseum, and will
need to launch a second marketing campaign," according to David
Li of the OAKLAND TRIBUNE. Ganis would not disclose how many
season ticket applications had been received by the midnight
Monday deadline, but with a "second marketing campaign," he
expects to "fill the Coliseum" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 7/20).
OAKLAND TO OFFER A'S $11M: Alameda County supervisors will
consider a proposal to compensate the A's with an $11M payment
due to the Raiders' return to the Coliseum, according to this
morning's SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. Part of the deal includes
giving the A's the right to terminate their lease at the end of
the '98 season -- for any reason. This agreement "substantially
sweetens the pot for potential owners Kenneth Hoffman and Stephen
Schott," and "privately, some officials had expressed fears that
if talks stalled with the A's, the deal to bring back the Raiders
could be in jeopardy." Under the lease revision, the A's get $6M
for seats lost during Coliseum construction, and $5M for having
to share the facility. If the team leaves after '98, they would
have to repay $5M. The deal is not tied to a Raiders return
(Sandy Kleffman, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 7/20).
DAYS OF OLD: The Raiders' old training camp site in Santa
Rosa, north of Oakland, has been converted into a discount store.
The team is currently looking for a new site in Sonoma and Napa
Counties (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/20).
