Oakland won't meet Wednesday NFL deadline
OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - The City of Oakland is telling the NFL it will not meet Wednesday's deadline to submit a financing plan for a new stadium for the Raiders.
Tuesday evening, Mayor Libby Schaaf held a news conference to explain a letter sent on December 29th, one day before the deadline, that says Oakland and Alameda County have not yet reached negotiated deal terms with the team.
In the letter, Schaaf says discussions with the team have been positive and ongoing. At the news conference, the mayor said she remains committed to keeping the team in Oakland even though the letter contains no formal proposal to the NFL on how to keep the team.
“We are committed to making this an open and transparent and public process that cannot be rushed,” Schaaf said.
Schaaf’s letter touts the proposed site for the Oakland Raiders stadium as an “unbeatable location” and that the Coliseum's site would be closer by public transportation and car to San Francisco, compared to the trip SF fans have to make now that the 49ers’ play at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Schaaf said the city provided more details about potential new public revenue sources that could be generated by development at the 120-acre Oakland Coliseum complex site.
She added that they are exploring utilizing new revenue and funds generated through taxes, clarifying that these revenues don’t currently exist, but would be created by new development and a new stadium.
The mayor stressed that any new options should and will not risk public funds. “We will not repeat mistakes of the past,” she said.
In addition, it notes progress made toward freeing the O.co Coliseum from bond debt that limits redevelopment options and shifting Alameda County's share of the Coliseum site to Oakland, simplifying the site's ownership.
The deal outlined in the letter offers the Raiders a long-term lease on the south 60 acres of the Coliseum site, at least 8,000 surface parking spaces plus development rights to nine acres around the Coliseum BART
station.
Schaaf concluded by saying the City of Oakland and Alameda County have not reached the point of formal negotiations with the Raiders at this time, but said they are confident, given more time, that they can enter a negotiating phase.
NFL owners are scheduled to vote in two weeks, on which team or teams will move to the Los Angeles area.
The Raiders are one of three NFL teams considering moving to the Los Angeles area next fall.
The Raiders and the San Diego Chargers want to share a stadium in the suburb of Carson, while the Rams have proposed a new stadium in Inglewood.