Raiders and 49ers officials yesterday confirmed that they "continue to talk about a joint stadium," but there "appears to be no agreement on where it would be located," according to Woodall, Rosenberg & Mintz in a front-page piece for the OAKLAND TRIBUNE. The 49ers "remain committed to a plan to break ground on a new facility in Santa Clara in 18 months," and Oakland city officials yesterday "unveiled a plan to build a new stadium adjacent to the O.co Coliseum." Oakland City Council member Rebecca Kaplan said that a "new football stadium would host the Raiders and the 49ers, as well as soccer and concerts." 49ers President & CEO Jed York in the past has said that "if the Santa Clara project ever failed to materialize, Oakland would be a strong alternative for a joint stadium because of its location close to public transportation." Raiders Chief Exec Amy Trask reiterated the team has an "open mind" about a joint stadium. But she "did not indicate whether that means abandoning efforts to build a new stadium in the East Bay in favor of joining the 49ers in the stadium planned for a parking lot adjacent to Great America theme park." Woodall, Rosenberg & Mintz note the "shared stadium proposal is a byproduct" of the new NFL CBA. A league source indicated that "there are provisions in the yet-to-be inked deal that include another round of financing for unidentified new stadiums around the league." An NFL official said that the plan "does not specify teams or locations that would be in line for league help with new stadiums, but the Bay Area and Los Angeles are considered the leading candidates" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 7/21). Rosenberg & Mintz report in a front-page piece in the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS that the "near-certainty that the league will fund just one Bay Area stadium steps up the pressure on the 49ers and Raiders to join forces, escalating the prospect that two professional football teams could end up in Santa Clara" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 7/21).
TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE? In San Jose, Mark Purdy writes it is "big news" if the Raiders are "finally becoming serious about working with the 49ers to get a deal done." It is "especially big news if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is beginning to firmly shove the two teams toward each other." Purdy: "This isn't advanced algebra. It's first-grade math. Is it cheaper to spend twice as many millions on two new stadiums? Or to spend half as many millions on just one? ... In terms of a singular stadium, it's going to be Santa Clara or Oakland. And the NFL, which contributed $300 million to the Giants and Jets' stadium construction, holds the big hammer" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 7/21). CSNBAYAREA.com's Ray Ratto noted the team that "gave in would surely want monetary compensation for moving away from its fan base, and negotiation increases the possibility of impasse, rather than the other way around." In addition, the NFL "would have to solidly commit to the Bay Area as the next place for a league stadium loan, and there is no sense that the league is prepared to do that" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 7/20).
