The Raiders' lease agreement to play the '19 season at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum "advances to the final public approval stages" this week after the Coliseum Authority on Friday unanimously approved the deal, according to Michael Gehlken of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. The Oakland City Council and Alameda County Board of Supervisors will vote on the deal, but Coliseum Authority Exec Dir Scott McKibben said that "no complications are anticipated." The lease approved on Friday will see the Raiders pay $7.5M in rent this coming season "with a $10.5 million team option for 2020" should the Las Vegas stadium be delayed. The team paid $3.5M in rent this past season (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/16). In S.F., Sarah Ravani noted the Raiders will pay an "owed $750,000 in parking fees" as part of the deal. The team can continue "working out at their practice facility in Alameda for 36 months after relocating to Las Vegas." It will cost $525,000 per year for the first two years, then jump to $1.05M for the third year. McKibben said that there will be a "season cap of $9.4 million on game-day expenses" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/16). ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez noted that the Coliseum Authority will get 100% of "any money for naming rights after having split it 50-50 with the Raiders in the past." It was reported in January that RingCentral had been in talks to land the rights (ESPN.com, 3/15).
ONE GOODBYE TOO MANY? In San Jose, David Debolt noted the new lease agreement will give Raiders fans in the Bay Area "one more season -- if they haven't sworn off the Silver and Black." Fans "weren't exactly running to the season ticket box office" on Friday, and the "reluctance to indulge is understandable" given the uncertainty around the franchise (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 3/16).
