Oakland closing in on keeping the Raiders

There has been a lot of talk lately about the Oakland Raiders possibly moving to Las Vegas lately. Owner Mark Davis is doing his due diligence in “flirting” with the city as things got quiet at home. Then there are some in Los Angeles that refuse to put the pipe down, saying there’s still a chance they can become the LA Raiders again.

That stems from a proposal from the city of San Diego, placing the Chargers in a new stadium downtown. The proposal will be up for a vote soon and many like the chances of the Chargers staying because of it. Nevermind the $1 billion relocation fee it would take for the Raiders to move in with the Rams in Los Angeles.

The Raiders have been held up in Oakland because the A’s signed a 10-year lease extension for the Oakland Coliseum back in 2014. So any plan for a stadium on the existing site would take the cooperation of A’s. Remember, the main bone of contention between the Raiders and Oakland was land for tailgating on the existing site.

At the same time, Davis wanted the Coliseum torn down for both the A’s and Raiders stadiums to be built at the same time. But Wolf, having the security of his lease at the Coliseum, was in no hurry to declare his intentions as Davis and his Raiders desperately needed him to.

But all that is soon to end as stadium consultant Zennie Abraham reported late last week that the A’s will be moving to a new site at Howard Terminal. A’s owner Lewis Wolf was offered the site a few years ago but at the time, he was trying to move the A’s to San Jose, a move the MLB didn’t approve of.

Then Schaff, the new mayor comes in, puts the offer back on the table and since San Jose is no longer an option, the deal will be made. Now, Davis will have all the land he was hagling over and the city of Oakland has a clear path to keeping the Raiders. The new proposal for the Raiders based on all this is expected to be announced soon.

Sorry LA, you’ll get the Raiders when they play the Rams.

The Raiders are staying home!