Update 8:18 PM – The Coliseum Authority board approved AEG 7-1, the only vote against coming from Ignacio De La Fuente.
Oh to be on the Coliseum Authority board these days. The board has two weeks to decide on a firm to manage the Coliseum complex, and the firm they’re grooming to take over, AEG, is getting a lot of unexpected scrutiny over their ability to take the Raiders away even as they manage the stadium for the next several years. The Trib’s Angela Woodall reports that AEG’s status as a potential “poacher” is hanging up approval of the facilites management contract.
The JPA/Authority has sought assurances that AEG would not try to lure any of the current tenant teams away, which is fine and dandy, except that the JPA’s counsel has said that such a stipulation has little teeth. The only thing the JPA could do is terminate the contract, which would entitle them to keep $4.5 million in money promised by AEG to manage the complex.
$4.5 million is a pittance for AEG, considering their claim that they’ve spent $27 million on studies and preparation for the Farmers Field project. They’ve promised to spend $10 million on badly needed improvements to a Metro Rail station near the LACC/Staples/Live!/Farmers complex. The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex may be a nice item to put in their portfolio, but Farmers Field is AEG’s big bet. It’s a beautiful situation for AEG because they can play both cities against each other – they’re practically doing it now! They’ll be in bed with the JPA as Oakland pushes Coliseum City while getting cozy with the Raiders, who are considering LA to some extent, in the process.
The whole scenario puts the Authority in a bind. They need AEG to do consulting on Coliseum City (as farfetched as it is), yet they can’t have AEG poaching the Raiders. There’s no other competitor that has anywhere near the kind of real world experience handling single-site, multiple venue development as AEG. Chris Dobbins of Save Oakland Sports and Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley were both in lockstep about their concerns.
And let’s get real about this, the only team AEG has any interest in is the Raiders. AEG is booked solid at Staples with its three teams and the company hasn’t expressed much interest in baseball. While Oakland has expressed interest in retaining the Warriors and Athletics, they’ve taken the most steps to keep the Raiders. AEG has Oakland by the short hairs, thanks to Mayor Jean Quan putting Oakland’s chips behind Coliseum City. Even when there is a big player involved, the City part of Coliseum City can be extraordinarily difficult to get off the ground, as the St. Louis Cardinals and developer Cordish can attest. Comparisons to Mission Bay/South Beach in SF are meaningless because that area and East Oakland are on different planets economically.
Alternately, the JPA could choose incumbent SMG, with whom they’ve had an up-and-down relationship, or Comcast’s Global Spectrum, which comes closest to AEG in that they operate the Wells Fargo Center and the newly opened Xfinity Live! in Philadelphia. The latter finally came to fruition several years after the two stadia and the WFC had opened, and after the old Spectrum was demolished to make way for Xfinity Live!.
If the Raiders went to LA, that creates a situation in which the Coliseum could be available for a new A’s stadium, which is probably the only solution at the complex that MLB would sign off on (assuming the ancillary development came in). The problem with that solution is that there would still be $100 million in Mt. Davis debt to deal with and either a demolished or decaying facility, and the A’s and MLB would want nothing to do with that. That brings us back to the question, What’s in it for the A’s?
It’s a tough situation to be in. Mayor Quan believes that Coliseum City is the best hope for retaining the teams and revitalizing East Oakland, yet it can be argued that bringing in AEG is akin to letting a fox in a henhouse, which could kill the vision of Coliseum City before it even gets started. I’d like to think that the City will make a prudent decision here, but by paving the way for AEG before the decision is made they’re almost locked into a specific path. It may well be a path to ruin.
newballpark.org 
If find it funny that the JPA is worried about AEG poaching not only the Raiders but the Warriors too. Have they not been reading the news about the Warriors already having been poached away by the city of San Francisco and the team’s own owners? Talk about being a day late and a dollar short.
Dan…yeah but they dont want AEG who will partner with them making any moves helping the Warriors jet….its not set in stone for them to leave…nor should they becuz SF isnt a basketball city. Would you want someone playing both sides of the fence? No company is even in discussion with handling any building in SF for the Warriors. I think its a good damn move.
Quan should keep pushing for coliseum City but for only the Raiders and Warriors or any other NBA team that may wanna get in on it. I use to think Coliseum is where the A’s should get a new place but I have changed on that….gotta go near downtown Oakland by Jack London…it will revive that area for sure
Comparisons to Mission Bay/South Beach in SF are meaningless because that area and East Oakland are on different planets economically.
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So what?….how is that meaningless? Gentrification is real and former depressed areas are being grabbed and East Oakland will be no different…its only a matter of time. We just know someone in particular wants all teams gone from Oakland…especially a certain baseball team relocating to the cowtown San Jose
@Bauce – With no firm commitment from any teams, if you ask any developer to build a five-star hotel or office high rises at the Coliseum they will laugh you right out of the room. Gentrification is about encroachment and slow spread. Outside of downtown Oakland there are few good examples of this in the city (Mandela Pkwy) and all of them required major government help and subsidies that no longer exist. You can’t just will it to happen. There’s a lot of risk involved and investors need to feel reasonably safe about returns.
Bauce, it’s not set in stone that they’ll leave, that’s true. But they’re already out the door. They’re already working with SF’s leaders to make Pier 30/32 a reality. And even on the off chance that falls through, the area near AT&T Park is the fall back, not Oakland. Oakland has already lost the Raiders. I get Quan trying to cover her ass for yet another option for the Raiders to put between their current plans and being stuck in Oakland, but like I said earlier, she’s trying to close the barn door after the horse already ran out. But then it’s not surprising. Quan has been slow and half assed reacting to the A’s situation too.
Just wanted to let you know I really appreciate your blog and twitter feed. It’s nice to have all this info available in one place… Keep up the good work.
Dan …Raiders going nowhere…guarantee ya that..LA dont want em back too
ML………..risks always have to be taken….thats how stuff get done
ML….yeah I remember living in LA…people laughed at LA Live….sure is funny now aint it?
@Bauce – They already had the North America’s busiest arena and a major convention center in place and it took years to come together. What does Oakland have after 2013?
Besides, it’s a simple case of follow-the-money. AEG has far more invested in LA. A $4.5 million pledge to get their foot in the door for the Raiders is peanuts.
Dan…. Pier 30/32 aint happening bruh…if they make the mistake to go to non basketball city it will be next to the midgets ATT Park……they not out the door yet because its hard to build something like that in SF…been always the case.
But if they leave…good riddance. I’m from Oakland not SF and I wont support them. Larry Ellison buy Kings even if they W’s dont leave….Call em Oakland Kings because thats what we are.
Take this with a grain of salt, but a poster on another site is claiming that the city of Oakland has a designated team that speaks with the Raiders weekly about negotiating the team staying. Here’s his post.
“I am not at liberty to discuss the particulars of the current negotiations between the City of Oakland and the Raiders organization, but I will say this, money is not the issue in the Raiders decision to sign-off on the deal. Don’t believe all of the negative media hype about the City of Oakland not having a viable financial plan to make this happen. There currently is a team (specifically designated by the City of Oakland to work with the Raiders) having open dialogue with the Raiders organization on a weekly basis to get a deal done. Believe this much, there is a lot more hope than there ever was before of the Raiders having a new home in Oakland. For those of you who seek further details, or want more facts, please feel free to come out to the next S.O.S. (Save Oakland Sports) meeting on 6/25 6 pm at the Red Lion Hotel in Oakland (150 Hegenberger Road – Oakland, CA 94621 – 510-635-5300). There are a lot of important people involved, and the insight is invaluable.”
Have you been to one of these meetings, ML?
@eb – I have not been to any SOS meetings but I am aware of them and know some of the people involved. If I can I’ll try to make next Monday’s meeting. The last one had Mayor Quan speaking, though I’m disappointed that there are no recaps of any of these meetings.
eb, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn Oakland might actually have a plan for the Raiders (whether it’s a good one remains to be seen as that source is awfully vague). But considering the only team the city’s recently commissioned study featured was the Raiders I’d not be surprised. They’ve not made it much of a secret that if they can save just one team, they’ll opt for the Raiders, despite the fact the Raiders are the least lucrative for the city, most expensive to keep, and have historically been the city’s least loyal team always ready to sell them out at a moments notice.
All of the race garbage aside, I think if you were asked what the basketball mecca of the Bay Area was, it would undoubtedly be Oakland. The city has produced a ton of basketball players and you can’t go very long without someone playing a pickup game in the city. Still, that means very little to rich sports owners. I’m still holding out on the A’s and Raiders, but it seems like this Warriors ownership has made up their minds and there’s not much to stop them. Who knows, maybe we’ll get really nifty alternate “The Town” hats/jerseys once they’re in SF.
theres no way the raiders move to LA even if AEG is the one running the coliseum for the next several years
and the SF proposal for the warriors is extremely fragile and unlikely. i could see them being worried abut potential poaching but its very unlikely. oakland is going to take its time as it waits for the whole A’s to san jose thing play out, and theyll create the most solid proposal in the next few years for all three teams to stay in oakland. warriors project on the pier wont work for obvious reasons so then theyll say to the giants, “hey can we build next to you guys?” and the giants will say, “sorry, weve already started a redevelopment project of our own here that does not include an arena.” So then the warriors will come crawling back across the bay bridge on their hands and knees asking to build in oakland.
Roberto, you are probably right, but there’s a better chance the Raiders will share the very nice stadium in Santa Clara. The city of Oakland needs to focus in on one team because financially they can’t afford this CC project without the help of very deep pocket investors. In my humble opinion, I think Oakland should focus in on keeping the Raiders because their owner, Mark Davis, is currently the only one interested in staying. It’s clear Warrior’s owner has no and never had any intentions of keeping the Warrior in Oakland even though fan support has never been an issue. Lew Wolf tried building a new stadium for the A’s in Oakland, but there was always problems. I remember then Mayor Jerry Brown shooting down the Jack London Square site because he wanted housing there. The A’s have always been the redheaded step child in Oakland, so I don’t blame Mr. Wolf for wanting to take his team to SJ.
Roberto, don’t be foolish to think the SF Giants doesn’t have an arena penciled into their redevelopment project especially if the pier arena doesn’t pan out. The Warriors are leaving Oakland because their current ownership bought the team with the intentions of moving it to SF.
Sucks the most likely outcome is looking like only the Raiders in Oakland, which as mentioned above, is the team that will contribute the least economically to the city, have the most expensive new stadium, and will continue to live out in the dregs of East Oakland surrounded by parking, horrible neighborhoods and freeway.
I have always appreciated the seemingly thankless/tireless dedication ML puts into covering the unending non-odyssey that is the A’s search for a new ballpark. The reasoning and attention to detail ML puts into each post, his careful analysis of events as they happen, and his understanding of how the different players, motives, and issue inter-relate are amazing. Because of ML’s YEARS of tracking this issue, I feel like I am highly informed on the A’s search for a ballpark.
Then, I read a couple of random uninformed comments full of prognostications based on nothing but emotion and hometown loyalty, and I really start to question the YEARS of thoughtful reasoned analysis that ML has posted. Thanks for providing a counterpoint, unnamed commenters above. (You know who you are.)
The 49ers built their stadium on SBLs, future naming rights, luxury suite sales to corporations, and sponsorships.
All the collective wealth of Silicon Valley made the 49ers stadium possible with minimal public contribution outside of getting the site ready, moving an electric substation, and a parking garage that was being built anyways.
What makes anyone think the Raiders can pull of an Oakland stadium with no SBLs, minimal naming rights, lack of corporations to buy luxury suites and sponsorships?
It will take a massive public subsidy, I agree the Raiders are gone….To Santa Clara in 2014. It is the only Mark Davis can keep a majority of the team and have a new place to play in…..It will be an reality soon.
As for the Warriors, if SF falls through they will move to San Jose. By moving to San Jose it blocks of Robert Pera moving the Grizzlies there in the future.
San Francisco is option 1A and 1B while partnering with the Sharks is option 2. If SF is not possible the Warriors move to Silicon Valley and Oakland is left with zero teams.
A’s in San Jose, Warriors in SF or SJ, and Raiders in SC……..There is no $$ in the East Bay…its all in SF and the South Bay.
I wouldn’t worry about Robert Pera moving the Grizzlies anywhere. He may never own them if the rumors about his finances are true. He’s lost 80% of his net worth in the last 6 months and now may not even have enough money to buy the Grizzlies let alone pay for a move.
……..There is no $$ in the East Bay…
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Another complete lie….why you think they keep building these high rise spots all over downtown? Yeah a place with so called minorities even though ppl with money moving in have no money…a place with the best recovery for real estate in the US….yeah sure no money is there lol
Sid….the Raiders will never go and share a place withthe 49ers…and cut off tailgating? Please that one ofthe biggest things about the Raider game experience
Warriors to SJ? LOLOLOLOLOL thats even more funny. Lacob and company would rather stay in Oakland than go there
A’s aint going to SJ….you are out ya mind buddy. Giants not giving that area up. San jose focus on the Sharks and your lame MLS soccer team
Will be funny in the future when they are two NBA teams in Bay Area…..it will shock alot of yall lol
I have to agree with Bauce on one thing. I don’t see the Warriors ever coming down to SJ on the off chance both SF Arena plans fail. It wouldn’t make any sense for the team to give up playing in a functionally newer arena (the Oracle Arena is for the most part only 15 years old to the HP Pavilion’s 20) that is not only larger for basketball, but is also optimized for the sport, to play in what is essentially a hockey arena that would be reconfigured for the NBA. The biggest reason it wouldn’t happen however is the finances. At Oracle the Warriors control the lions share of the revenue and are the primary tenant. In San Jose they’d be lucky to get their own game day receipts and would be second class tenants to the Sharks. Which brings up another reason it probably wouldn’t happen, the Sharks. What is their incentive to bring in in-season competition to the south bay for the sporting dollar? No if both SF Arena plans were to fail (and mind you I don’t even think the primary plan at Pier 30/32 will fail), the Warriors would probably go back to Oakland.
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But of course that will all likely be a moot point when the SF Arena opens in a few years.
Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Oakland-Sports/313792838683682 Hit the Like
SAVE OAKLAND SPORTS (www.saveoaklandsports.org) is a grassroots group whose goal is to develop a game plan to convince the Raiders, A’s and Warriors to stay and build world-class stadiums in Oakland for the benefit of fans, their franchises, the economy and the entire East Bay. SAVE OAKLAND SPORTS (SOS) hopes to work with government, business and community leaders to demonstrate to these teams that Oakland offers the nation’s best stadium location and opportunity, fan support and long-term economic stability for their franchises.But SAVE OAKLAND SPORTS plans to be more than a cheerleading organization.
We are calling on anyone with an interest in these teams to help create a multi-faceted, regionwide campaign and game plan to keep the Raiders, A’s and Warriors (RAW) economic power in the East Bay.This organization plans to contribute practical and creative ideas to the teams, City of Oakland and Alameda County officials to generate revenue and private investment – without using general fund money – to build state-of-the-art stadiums in Oakland and create new development, jobs and tourism. SOS is non-political and all-volunteer. It is an umbrella group open to anyone who wants to retain our professional sports franchises which have been East Bay civic treasures for decades. New stadiums will generate temporary and permanent jobs, new investment and new development – and support other events that would showcase the region. SOS also acknowledges and thanks Oakland and Alameda County officials, business leaders as well as other fan and business groups for their effort to retain these teams. We hope to collaborate with other organizations on ideas to fund stadium-construction, increase awareness of the teams’ importance to our region and hopefully by extension increase ticket sales in their existing venues.We believe that Oakland represents an unparalleled stadium construction and ancillary development opportunity including new retail and commercial enterprise, restaurants and entertainment. Moreover, the East Bay has the individual and corporate fan base to form a solid economic foundation and stability for these franchises.
SAVE OAKLAND SPORTS will gather, contribute and/or help carry out ideas from fans, organizations, unions and businesses to raise money to build these stadiums. At the same time, we will contact officials of each team to request that they commit to stay and be a partner in this once-in-a-generation opportunity in Oakland.SOS believes that staying in Oakland is in each team’s best long-term economic interest and that each franchise provides significant socio-economic benefit to the East Bay and Northern California.WHY IS OAKLAND THE BEST LOCATION?Oakland and the East Bay offer tremendous assets and options for the Raiders, A’s and Warriors.Available land with infrastructure to support new stadiums.Thousands of businesses from which to draw corporate support. Unmatched transportation infrastructure – proximity to Oakland International Airport, BART (including a new connector to the Oakland Airport), Amtrak and adjacent to a major freeway – to support operations and fan access.
Weather that has been sometimes voted the nation’s “best.”Unparalleled cultural, recreational and educational opportunities to attract and retain players, fans and corporate support.
A storied fan base with legendary loyalty AND with the potential to GROW with a commitment from the teams that Oakland will remain their home long term. Please pledge your support by going to SOS’ Facebook page & press “Like” then post your name and organization on Save Oakland Sports’ website. You could also become Facebook Friends with “Oakland Raiders New Stadium” @with http://www.facebook.com/NewStadiumforRaiders, Thank You.
Main Phone Number: 510/383-9080
No thanks. Oakland had its shot for the last 17 years. Time for the A’s at least to move on to a local city that’s actually doing something for the team rather than the smoke and mirrors BS of the fools running Oakland.
Moot point is SF getting an arena off the Pier…are you nuts? Will never happen. I work in the City and hella people here are saying no dice and that they dont want all of that crap down there. They love the giants and kinda like the niners
For those who think that Oakland is a fallback on Pier 30-32, keep in mind it was Baer himself that introduced Gruber/Lacob to Cohen. Yes, they are that close. So the fallback would most likely be MR area. Food for thought.
Funny thing though, everyone including Oakland folks are now resigned to the A’s moving and putting all their eggs into the RAiders basket. Yes, the same basket that costs the most and is least lucrative out of of them all. =/
Anybody who wants to know what could happen to the A’s if they build their own stadium in Oakland should google “New Jersey Devils, nearing bankruptcy, NHL takeover.” The Devils had to pay for a huge chunk of their own arena but remain weak draws at the Box Office (unless they’re in the Stanley Cup Finals.) Seems like a good comparison to the A’s.
I find it funny that this troll comes touting the greatness of Oakland and all that is happening there, yet he works in San Francisco just like the many others who were stuck on the wrong side of the bay the other day when BART broke. Not to pile on with insults, but Oakland is too tied to SF these days. That’s a big problem for the A’s and it won’t be different with a new stadium.
what would be better is if oakland gets a new NBA team that the true basketball fans can root for that will actually respect oakland, the fans, and try to win. otherwise, i hope the grizzlies can move to SJ where i live. overall, i think there will be 2 NBA franchises in the bay area no matter how you look at it
I think you’re dreaming. Between the price they’d have to pay the Warriors to enter the region and the fact there is at least one ready market in Seattle already it’ll be a long time if ever before a second team shows up in the Bay Area.
Well thats that. AEG approved 7-1
http://www.insidebayarea.com/raiders/ci_20885078/aeg-confirmed-operator-o-co-coliseum?source=email
Wonder why the JPA even bothered with the limited 50 mile restriction. AEG has no intention of poaching the A’s or Warriors. Their focus would be the Raiders, and they’re not going to poach them within 50 miles, seeing as LA is 400 miles from Oakland.
@ML–You are correct. Letting AEG in the hen house would be disaster for retaining the Raiders. The only team likely to stay in Oakland.
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Coliseum City will never happen due to the proximity of the crime in East Oakland. Oakland’s biggest task is to focus on reducing the crime with all possible means or there will be no “There there”.
@Chi – The only thing that’s going to impress either any of the pro sports leagues is money. Public, private, as long as there’s money to build. How much do you believe in Quan’s and SOS’s ability to come through on that front, especially considering we’re talking about $2 billion in stadia alone.
The 50 miles limitation is interesting and seems practical on an abstract level. If the W’s fall through on their current SF plan, going to SJ or going with a separate SF plan could happen. For the A’s, where they want to go is obvious. So AEG is out of the running on taking either of those teams to their preferred, nearby locations. Makes sense….
Yet as a practical matter the 50 mile rule is worth little. AEG isn’t baseball. Also, if the A’s get the ok from MLB, LW will be busting out the gate faster than AEG could spell AEG. The W’s appear to be taking care of business on their own and seemingly would need to find themselves boxed in before they would call on AEG. The Raiders on the other hand are a prime target. And since the Raiders have Oakland or out of the bay area as their only two realistic choices, again the agreement has little practical value. So this is what they held up the negotiations for? Just a dog and pony political show? Does anyone know why IDLF voted no?
If one assumes, for the moment, that Mark Davis will not be able to reach a deal to build a new stadium in Alameda County, it seems to me (based on what he has said) that he would rather parter with AEG (in Downtown L.A.) or Ed Roski (in Industry) than become a tenant of the Yorks in Santa Clara.
What’s new about SOS? I read the talking points and they are the same talking points that have been trotted out for years. They haven’t been very convincing to date, what makes them more convincing now?
Chi, while I agree that crime won’t be an issue during sporting events… It is a legitimate question to ask “What about the rest of the time?” The idea is to create a retail/hotel/convention center type place that would be sued all the time. It is inclose proximity to some rough neighborhoods. In most cases, crime rates within a given city are red herrings in these kind of debates, but in this case it could be argued that the nearby crime is an obstacle to building something like Coliseum City (though I personally don’t think it is that big of an obstacle, the biggest one is finding investors). The idea that Coliseum City is just a sports complex is wrong… Just a sports complex won’t work there (and it hasn’t really worked for more than 4 decades).
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Let’s review what has worked in other areas for baseball:
1. Adjacent to downtown
2. Already in the path of growth (preferred: adjacent development already underway, less preferred: beginning shortly. not really preferred: at least planned)
3. Public subsidy of 50% or more (since the 90’s, only 4 baseball stadiums have been built with more private than public financing)
4. Support of a large number of businesses/corporate heavy weights
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As of right now, Coliseum City doesn’t fit any of these four things. Well maybe number two if you consider drawings a plan.
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Now I suppose I should add a “brah, Oakland isn’t a baseball city” or something here for effect. But I’ll refrain, because that’s complete hogwash. Sports are a regional play. It doesn’t matter which specific city the baseball fans come from (ever been on BART from Pleasanton, or Concord, towards San Francisco before a Giants game?). It just matters that there are enough fans with the required cash to buy a ticket and the required transportation to said stadium.
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It’s all about the money.
Pudgie, which again raises the question, why did Oakland bother with the 50 mile rule. In LA the Raiders have been talking with Roski to date, not AEG. And even if they switch to AEG this contract does nothing to stop AEG from pursuing the Raiders beyond the contract termination penalties the city already had in place before yesterday. It really does seem to have been nothing but a dog and pony show to placate groups like SOS that in the end are nothing but a smoke screen. Seems like standard operating procedure in Oakland. All talk, no substance.
Yep as I figured, the SOS folks are eating it up like this was some sort of victory for them that AEG can’t steal the Raiders, A’s or Warriors within 50 miles of Oakland. Nevermind AEG never having had any intention of doing anything with the baseball and basketball teams and they’re still free to steal the Raiders for LA if they want. Amazing how easy to fool and placate some people are.
I find it funny that this troll comes touting the greatness of Oakland and all that is happening there, yet he works in San Francisco just like the many others who were stuck on the wrong side of the bay the other day when BART broke. Not to pile on with insults, but Oakland is too tied to SF these days. That’s a big problem for the A’s and it won’t be different with a new stadium.
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This makes no sense at all. So what is someone works in SF? Thats not the only place I work from. You dont know people have jobs that call for them to work in different cities at a given tiem do ya? Mental midget to the max
Oakland is not tied to SF in anyway…thats just too stupid to even say. Oakland has an international airport, own transit system,own school district and Alameda County is in no way tied to SF county. Please just shut up now. The two sides are very different from one another. You sir are a moron
Pudgie, which again raises the question, why did Oakland bother with the 50 mile rule. In LA the Raiders have been talking with Roski to date, not AEG. And even if they switch to AEG this contract does nothing to stop AEG from pursuing the Raiders beyond the contract termination penalties the city already had in place before yesterday. It really does seem to have been nothing but a dog and pony show to placate groups like SOS that in the end are nothing but a smoke screen. Seems like standard operating procedure in Oakland. All talk, no substance.
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Mark Davis already came out and said he was not talking to Roski….be quiet man….Raiders will nto go to LA…you know nada
All you Oakland haters will rue the day you made all these comments…A’s will not go to SJ and Raiders wont leave Oakland…Warriors only can move to SF if next to Giants place not Pier 30/32…but still thats a long ways off and they will be crawling back to Oakland when SF shuts the door on them lol
Bauce, Mark Davis wasn’t talking to Roski, but his dad and Amy Trask were ;). And if you don’t think they’ve kept that line of communication open I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell to you.
Dan…..LA is not even an option for the Raiders…you have no clue what you are talking about
Roski was talking to them…he was one begging not Mr Davis or Mrs Trask….dont confuse it or spin the truth….you sound like a democrat
Unfortunately Oakland seems all in on the Raiders. Whether by design, or by the simple fact they’re the last team that hasn’t said in no uncertain terms that they’re leaving, I don’t know. But the Raiders offer the city the least bang for their buck in terms of return on investment. A football stadium is going to sit empty most of the year (like Candlestick Park does today). At least an arena gets used for not only the primary tenant’s games but also all sorts of ancillary events, and of course a baseball park gets 81 days use annually without even including any secondary events it might hold. Seems to me if Oakland really can bring to bear the public and private funds SOS seems to think exists (which I still highly doubt), the city would have been better served focusing on the A’s and/or Warriors first. Preferably at a downtown venue for one or both of those teams. Not on a second football stadium in the region in an industrial wasteland parking lot.
i didn’t appreciate the comment: “I understand there are hella black people there” about East Oakland in this thread. East Oakland is very diverse. There are Asian, Pacific Island, White and Latino families who live right behind the Coliseum BART station. The majority of those families (including the black ones) are trying hard to work their way out of the lower middle class and shouldn’t feared or ridiculed.
@David – Well said.
Thread’s done. Tired of cleaning up after you people.