San Francisco’s Oracle Park is still being weighed as a possible Raiders 2019 home facility, but an official agreement has not been announced.
It has appeared increasingly unlikely over the last few months that the Oakland Raiders will return to Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum next season, as a lawsuit filed by the City of Oakland against the team and the NFL seems to have shut the door on a possible lease extension. The club’s move to a new stadium in Las Vegas is not set to take place until 2020, necessitating at least a one-year stay at a temporary home.
Previous reports have indicated that the Raiders and MLB’s San Francisco Giants are in discussions about the use of Oracle Park for the 2019 NFL season. Oracle Park–known as AT&T Park until a new naming-rights agreement was announced last month–would allow the Raiders to remain in the Bay Area for one final season, while offering a venue with prior football experience. With one home game scheduled for London, the Raiders would play up to seven contests at the facility. Negotiations concerning the Raiders’ potential use of Oracle Park continue, but the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Sunday night that NFL approval and a needed decision by the 49ers to waive territorial rights have not taken place:
Negotiations are continuing for the Raiders to play their 2019 home games at Oracle Park, home of the Giants, a source said Sunday night.
NBC Bay Area reported Sunday evening that the Raiders had reached a deal with the Giants to play next season at Oracle Park. The NFL would have to approve a deal, however, and the 49ers would have to waive their territorial rights in San Francisco. That has not happened, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Article 4.2(A)(1) of the NFL’s bylaws states that the 49ers and Raiders have “exclusive right” to play in their cities, and that “neither the San Francisco nor the Oakland club shall have any right to play professional football in the city of the other without the consent of the other club.”
Oracle Park has never been used by an NFL squad, but it does have other experience staging collegiate and professional football games. That includes bowl games, XFL action for the San Francisco Demons in 2001, and home games for the California Golden Bears in 2011. The Giants have played there since the ballpark’s opening in 2000.