Oakland Raiders: My take on the latest stadium drama

Jul 8, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics all-stars from left to right third baseman Josh Donaldson (20), catcher Derek Norris (36), left fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52), starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija (29), starting pitcher Scott Kazmir (26), relief pitcher Sean Doolittle (62) and first baseman Brandon Moss (37) holding their jerseys before the game against the San Francisco Giants at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis dreams of a new stadium for his team. All of Raider Nation has the same dreams. Those dreams are in the hands of people who can’t afford to build it, i.e. public officials. The Oakland City Council and all city offices involved are in the middle of a vote to approve a new 10 year lease for the Oakland A’s at O.co Coliseum. The thought is that this lease, as currently constructed, kills any Raiders stadium and Coliseum City. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

Ultimately the underlying issue is money. The A’s currently get all concession revenue from O.co Coliseum. And I do mean all. That includes Raider games and other events at O.co, all the concession revenue is pocketed by the A’s. They are not interested in relinquishing any power with regard to any new stadium arrangement. The A’s believe they can build their own privately funded baseball only stadium on the current O.co site. Lew has publicly stated he will not be a tenant in any new A’s stadium deal. They want to be owner and operator, which is pretty close to their current deal now.

I think the solution is Coliseum City, but with a twist. Split the project up. The A’s can privately fund their own stadium, on land they lease from the City or Colony Capital. Similar to how the plan is to sell the rights to develop shopping and hotels around the two stadiums, as part of Coliseum City.

This to me, seems to make the most sense. It allows Lew Wolff to fund and run his own development. It would relieve some of the financial burden for Coliseum City.  It would allow the Raiders, NFL and Colony Capital to focus on funding the construction of the Al Davis Memorial Coliseum presented by Puma.