The Raiders filed court papers on Friday that argued
the suit by Oakland and Alameda County against them "should
be moved to another county because local jurors would
consider the team 'outsiders' and would be biased,"
according to Thayer Scott of the S.F. CHRONICLE. The suit
claims that the Raiders are trying to get out of their '95
contract with the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum Authority by
blocking a $17.5M naming rights deal with UMAX. Attorneys
for the Raiders did not specify where they wanted the case
moved. Jeff Kessler, who represents the Authority, called
the Raiders' assertion that they did not do business in
Oakland "ridiculous" and "expected the motion to be
rejected" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 11/1). In Oakland, William Brand
reported that the Raiders call the city of Alameda their
corporate home (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 11/1).
OFMA GETS A LOAN: The Coliseum Authority voted Friday
to give $800,000 more to the Oakland Football Marketing
Association (OFMA), "even though ticket sales have remained
stagnant all year." The money "almost certainly will have
to come out of public funds because it exceeds the amount
available in the authority's budget this year." The
allocation is contingent upon the OFMA submitting a spending
plan by December (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 11/1).
