With the NFL possibly voting on the proposal later this month, the Oakland Raiders are still focused on relocating to Las Vegas.Oakland officials, meanwhile, are still discussing their plan to keep the team.
NFL owners could vote a meeting that runs from March 26-29 on the proposal from the Raiders, which calls for the team to move into a new Las Vegas stadium. The facility is part of a $1.9 billion project that has $750 million in public funding on the table from the State of Nevada, and it was recently revealed that the Raiders would receive financing from Bank of America.
The plan is by no means final, but it has certainly gathered momentum over the recent weeks. In Oakland, officials are sticking with their concept, which calls for a $1.3 billion project at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum site. A new stadium would be constructed as land surrounding the Coliseum is redeveloped, and the project has a partner in the form of a group that includes Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott. Lott’s group has the backing of Fortress Investments.
Raiders owner Mark Davis, for his part, has never publicly commented on the proposal, despite the fact that Oakland and Alameda County agreed to a term sheet in December. The key issue for Oakland is timing. While the term sheet is in place, negotiations are still ongoing and will take months to complete, according to assistant city administrator Claudia Cappio. Cappio, who told the East Bay Times that Davis has not met with her directly in over a year, and other Oakland officials will be closely watching the NFL’s next move. More from the East Bay Times:
Despite Oakland’s need for a Hail Mary pass to keep the Raiders, the city’s proposal is still months away from reaching the end zone. City and county leaders in December approved a term sheet and currently are working out an agreement so they can begin to negotiate the details of the plan. The process could take anywhere from six to eight months, Cappio said, pinning the city’s hopes on a delay in the relocation vote by the NFL next week in Phoenix or convincing at least nine owners Oakland is the better option. The Raiders need 24 of the 32 owners to approve the move.
Earlier concerns of placing a football franchise in a gambling mecca seem a faint memory, perhaps because NFL owners have a big incentive for allowing the Raiders to leave Oakland for a second time: money. The St. Louis Rams paid the league $550 million to move to Los Angeles last year. The Chargers’ relocation fee to move from San Diego to L.A. was $650 million. Owners earned $38.71 million each off those moves.
“Our obligation and objective is to put (a plan) forward in the clearest way; at the end of the day, that’s all I can do,” Cappio said.
The Raiders will need approval from 24 of the league’s 32 owners to secure the move. If the upcoming vote is delayed, the NFL could have a chance to revisit it, as there is also a league meeting scheduled for May 22-24 in Chicago.
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