Stadium issues not new for Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders need a new stadium. The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is an old facility that offers few of the modern amenities that teams need to have to remain economically competitive.

The Raiders stadium issues date back to their formation in 1960. They played their first two years in San Francisco, with the '60 season split between Kesar Stadium and the new Candlestick Park. In 1961, they played their entire slate of home games at the 'Stick. From 1962-65 they played in Frank Youell Field, which was a temporary facility that was built so the Raiders could play on their home side of the bay whilst the Coliseum was being built.

Frank Youell Field was adjacent to the current site of Laney College. It was a small stadium that had a capacity of 22,000, and it was said that the fans could easily shake the stands. The team only stayed there for three years before they moved into the brand new Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

The Oakland Coliseum was born in the age of the cookie-cutter multi-sport stadiums. It was built for the Oakland Raiders to have a home, but was also designed for an easy conversion to baseball as the city of Oakland was in the process of luring Charlie O Finley to relocate his Kansas City Athletics to the East Bay. It was originally built to have a capacity of 54,000.

The Raiders moved into their new home for the 1966 season. Compared to Frank Youell Field, the new home was a palace.  But in reality it was a small stadium that was built for a mere $25 million that was small in comparison to many other teams. Their only losing season in the original Coliseum was 1981, the last year before their move to Los Angeles.

By the mid-'70s Al Davis had solidified his complete control over the Oakland Raiders and he foresaw the winds of change that would be sweeping through the NFL. He knew that teams needed luxury boxes to maintain their revenue streams. After negotiations with Oakland for renovations to the Coliseum broke down, Davis decided that he was going to move the Raiders to Los Angeles based on the promises of  a new stadium with the luxury suites he desired.

Los Angeles years

Prior to the 1980 season, Al Davis announced that he was moving the Raiders to Los Angeles. The league stopped the move and the city filed an eminent domain lawsuit against Davis to keep the Raiders in Oakland. However, following the 1981 season the Raiders moved down south to the Los Angeles Coliseum.

The LA Coliseum had a significantly higher capacity than its counterpart in Oakland, with attendance topping 92,000 for playoff games. What the LA Coliseum did not have was the luxury boxes that Davis coveted. Within a few years of his move, he was looking for a new state-of-the-art stadium in Southern California.

In 1987, a mere six years after moving to LA, Davis entered into negotiations with the suburban city of Irwindale for a new stadium. In the deal, Davis would take ownership of the stadium as long as the Raiders would play there for 19 years.  The deal fell through due to failure to get necessary environmental impact reports and the LA County Board of Supervisors not signing on. Davis pocketed a $10 million nonfefundable deposit, but was stuck in a stadium that had no luxury suites and was increasingly out of date. There was another potential stadium deal with the racetrack at Hollywood Park, which fell through after the NFL insisted on it being shared with another team.

Homecoming

The final curtain for the LA years was the 1994 Northridge Earthquake which damaged the LA Coliseum leaving the Raiders essentially homeless. After an attempt to lure the Raiders home fell through in 1991, Oakland made initial offers of a temporary home as the LA Coliseum was repaired. As the negotiations continued it became about a permanent homecoming for the Silver and Black. As part of the deal for the Raiders return, the Oakland Coliseum would be renovated to include the long-coveted luxury boxes.

The remodel proved controversial in the Bay Area as a steep upper deck was added to fill in the previous open space which has come to be dubbed "Mount Davis." The renovated Coliseum had the luxury boxes and an expanded capacity of 62,000.

Current issues:

Lack of sellouts has been a constant problem for the Raiders since their return from LA in 1995. At first this had a lot to do with the complete disaster that was the Oakland Football Marketing Administration that screwed up the sale of PSLs and tickets. The OFMA was eliminated in 2005 and ticket sales went up until 2009 when the disastrous state of the team kept the fans away.

Even with the 1995 remodel, the Coliseum has the second smallest capacity in the league. Only the new Soldier Field has a smaller capacity.

The stadium has luxury suites but it only has a few when compared to most of the other stadiums. It also lacks most of the amenities of the new stadiums. This lack of amenities is something that most of the die-hard fans see as not much of an issue, but for a team building revenue streams it is necessary.

Outlook:

The Raiders quest for a stadium has rumors of their return to LA, as talk of a potential LA stadium has gained steam. Whilst that is a distinct possibility, it is not likely as LA officials surely have vivid memories of the dealings with Davis and are saying no thanks. However, it has been his son Mark who has been at the forefront of the stadium quest.

In the best of times the Bay Area is not inclined to support public funds for a stadium, especially considering that the city of Oakland is still paying for the '95 upgrades. With the economy having gone in the tank in 2008 and not nearly recovered, there is not the private funding for a stadium of the nature that carried the Giants' efforts to build Pac Bell AT&T Park. There is also the fact that their cross-bay rival San Francisco 49ers are in dire need of a new stadium of their own.

The NFL has a large fund for building stadiums, and commissioner Goodell has put the stipulation on offering funds to the Bay Area that it would be for a shared stadium. This is something that is wildly unpopular among both fan bases, but likely the only way that both teams can get a new stadium.

The 49ers have coveted a location in Santa Clara for a number of years. However, the negotiations over that site are continuous and never seem to bear fruit. The Coliseum has begun investigating a new football only stadium adjacent to their current property that would be occupied by both teams.

With the Coliseum Commission currently having the land adjacent to Interstate 880 as well as dedicated BART and AMTRAK stations it is the best location for a stadium. It is a matter of putting together the best deal. The 49er fans would not like coming to the East Bay, but it would be much more convenient all around for that location.