New Oakland Raiders Stadium Doesn’t Need Bells and Whistles, Says Mark Davis
By Chase Ruttig
Jan 16, 2015; Alameda, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis at press conference at the Raiders practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
While Mayor of Oakland Libby Schaaf has began to form a hard stance against giving the Oakland Raiders taxpayer money to build a new stadium, owner Mark Davis is publicly claiming that if the city were to build a stadium he would keep things modest to keep the pricetag low on a potential new Oakland Coliseum. Something that could potentially change public opinion in Oakland as Davis appears willing to build a stadium focused on football and shave some costs on giving the city a much needed update when it comes to their stadium.
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Talking to ESPN’s John Clayton on a podcast this week, the Raiders owner seemed like he had reasonable expectations for a potential stadium in Oakland. His main requirements all being ones that appear as basic needs for an NFL venue. Hoping that lowering the cost could turn some favor towards the City of Oakland meeting him halfway on the stadium spending issue.
When it came to Davis’ requirements on a stadium, the owner told Clayton that he wants a football oriented venue that has good tailgating space for the Raider Nation along with the infrastructure to make the gameday experience an enjoyable one for the fans. Using the Seattle Seahawks home at CenturyLink Field as an example.
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“If we were to be in Oakland, we don’t really need to have all the bells and whistles on the stadium,” Davis said in a podcast with ESPN’s John Clayton. “What we want is a football stadium. We don’t need massive clubs and things of that nature. The three things that are most important to me in a stadium up here would be ingress, egress and parking. The reason I bring those things up is that it makes it easy for people to get in and out, and the parking. Tailgating is such a major part of the Raiders game day experience for our fans. That it’s something that I’m not willing to give up. Parking is such an important thing.”
“If we have those things and were able to build a football stadium similar to Seattle or something of that nature, we’d be more than happy.”
It is interesting that Davis wants a basic model, but it is not surprising that the owner wants something in the frame of what people would expect Al Davis would want in his stadium. A stadium that is football and fan oriented, keeping the focus on the game rather than the fancy additions other new stadiums have featured. It remains doubtful that Davis wanting a modest stadium will help negotiations with the politicians in Oakland including the mayor, but the owner does get some credit for having rather realistic expectations for a new venue when he does get one.