Yep, Oakland is making one last play to keep the Raiders. Whether it’s political cover or a viable Hail Mary pass remains to be seen.
For now, here’s what we know: Via ESPN.com, Oakland and its partners have submitted a “revised” plan to finance a $1.3 billion stadium at the site where the team’s current facility sits.
“At the end of the day this is the decision of the Raiders and the NFL,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf told ESPN. “What I am confident about is, if the Raiders want to stay in Oakland we have a viable plan to build them a stadium with no upfront money from them, in financial terms that I believe are more favorable to them than the terms in Las Vegas -- what we know of them.
“And then, of course, we have something that Vegas can never offer, and that’s legacy and loyalty. This team was born in Oakland. This team enjoys some of the most passionate and dedicated fans of any NFL franchise. Those things belong uniquely to Oakland.”
Those things have been a non-issue when it comes to the team’s desire to get a new stadium, which over the past year or so has centered on Las Vegas. The question now becomes whether those qualities will prompt the Raiders to slam the brakes on the momentum building toward Las Vegas and explore an offer that could, in theory, get worse once it accomplishes its objective to pulling the emergency cord in the train car.
According to the last-second offer, the Raiders and the NFL would kick in the same $500 million that they’d contribute in Las Vegas. Fortress Investment Group would loan $650 million to the project, similar to the loan Bank of America would be making to the project in Las Vegas. Also, Oakland would contribute $200 million in infrastructure improvements, with Fortress paying $150 million of that amount up front and making it back later.
“I recognize that this could be our final chance, but we have worked so hard these last two years,” Schaaf said. “We’ve put together a viable deal that satisfies many requirements that we believe is the best deal for the Raiders and the NFL. We hope that they give it full consideration on Monday.”
Getting full consideration may be the primary objective of the latest offer. That way, Schaaf and other Oakland politicians can argue after the Raiders leave that they did everything they could to keep the team, but that it was the league and the Raiders that opted to leave.