Mark Davis speaks on Raiders stadium issue, effect of potential A’s lease
By Chase Ruttig
Jun 17, 2014; Alameda, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis (left) and Willie Brown at minicamp at Raiders Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Oakland Raiders are a team that is in need of a new stadium and have been needing one for some time now, with the conditions at the Oakland Coliseum being unsuitable. However the City of Oakland and mayor Jean Quan have been adamant about the lack of public funds available to help build a new stadium, something that has made the issue an ever present one in the Bay Area with many believing that the city may one day lose the team due to their lack of interest in coming to an agreement with owner Mark Davis.
Those concerns have been increased with Oakland A’s owner Lew Wolff reportedly being likely to extend his team’s lease at the Coliseum for another ten years, ensuring that the city won’t be tearing down an outdated venue any time soon. At Raiders minicamp on Thursday, Davis spoke to the media about the issue and didn’t have much positives.
Davis said that the talks between the Raiders and the City of Oakland have continued, but once again voiced his frustration that nothing has been accomplished other than talks between the two sides in what is now years of discussions between the two parties. The owner also mentioned the complications the A’s lease have caused, particularly location wise as with the Coliseum’s shelf life set to continue the Raiders and the city would have to figure out a new plan that wouldn’t involve the A’s or the current location of the stadium.
"All the talks are positive, but nothing happens after the talks." - #Raiders owner Mark Davis, on stadium talks, to 4 reporters,
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) June 19, 2014
Davis on the likelihood of an A's 10-year lease extension with the Coliseum: "It does make a problem, there's no two ways about it."
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) June 19, 2014
Davis on the problem: "In order to do a really comprehensive building development there, you have to tear the Coliseum down to start with."
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) June 19, 2014
Davis: "The A's lease is up in 2015. If we could come to a deal with Colony Capital to build a football stadium there...
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) June 19, 2014
More Davis: "... We would like to be able to tear that Oakland Coliseum down the minute the 2015 baseball season's over."
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) June 19, 2014
Davis’ comments will surely continue the worries amongst passionate Oakland are football fans that their team may be taken from them for a second time if the City of Oakland can’t find a way to ensure that two teams with deep histories in the community stay with a new facility. The number one new issue is the A’s potentially leasing the Coliseum for another decade, something that could potentially kill Raiders football unless Davis can build a new stadium on his own with private investors. While that is possible, most new stadiums involve some sort of help from the local governments which is why the A’s potentially allowing the city to procrastinate on the stadium issue in the city presents a problem for Davis and the Raiders. With the Coliseum falling apart each year, another decade at arguably the worst venue in the NFL is not in the future plans for the franchise. A tough truth that may be hard for Oakland fans to take.