Backers of a stadium in Oakland are continuing their push to keep the Oakland Raiders, as a proposal has been submitted to the NFL.
The Raiders are still working on a proposed move to Las Vegas, where $750 million in public funding is on the table for a $1.9 billion stadium project. A $650 million gap in the funding for that proposal arose when Sheldon Adelson backed out of the project, and eyes have been on the Raiders since to see if the team comes up with a solution to address that issue.
Oakland’s stadium plan has been in the works for some time, as officials signed off on a term sheet in December for a project that includes a new stadium and related development at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum site. League initially officials expressed doubts about the plan, which included the involvement of the Fortress Investment Group and a group that features Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott. Officials confirmed that a proposal has been turned into the league, but declined to offer specifics. More from the San Francisco Chronicle:
The plan’s financial backer, the Fortress Investment Group — which is working with former NFL players Ronnie Lott and Rodney Peete — submitted the proposal to the league sometime in the past week, said Sam Singer, a spokesman for the group working on the Oakland stadium plan.
Details on what was submitted were not released, but it’s believed to be an attempt to assuage concerns the league had over financing and other fundamental questions. In December, league officials expressed skepticism about an initial plan from the group.
At the time, the financing proposal called for $600 million from Lott’s contingent and Fortress Investment, a combined $500 million from the Raiders and the NFL, and $200 million in infrastructure money from Oakland.
There are still some unknown variables in both Oakland and Las Vegas. As noted earlier, specific details on how the funding gap in Las Vegas will be addressed have still not been released.
In previous remarks, Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf has expressed little interest in upping the public contribution for the project, which, per the project’s original term sheet, includes $200 million for infrastructure as well as 105 acres of land that was valued at $150 million, according to the Chronicle. Without specific details, it remains to be seen what Oakland’s backers are now proposing to the league.
The NFL is expected to weigh in on the Raiders’ application to relocate at later this month.
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