The finish line is clearly in sight for the Raiders to get a lease to remain in Oakland for the 2019 season along with an option for 2020 in the event they aren’t ready to head to Las Vegas, but they haven’t crossed the tape just yet.
They still aren’t there after a Wednesday meeting of the Coliseum Authority. The body’s executive director Scott McKibben told Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that “one rather significant” issue remains to be settled before things will move forward to a vote approving an agreement to bring the Raiders back.
McKibben did not go into detail about the nature of the issue, but did say that it is big enough that it could lead to the deal coming undone.
“On the business terms of this deal, we’re 95 percent there,” McKibben said. “But there is this one big issue that we need to get worked out. ... I’m hoping we’ll have an answer from [the Raiders] today or tomorrow about how they feel about this open issue.”
If the issue is sorted out and the Coliseum Authority gives a thumbs up, the Oakland City Council and Alameda County Board of Supervisors would then be asked to approve the deal so that everything is in place.
