Despite the attendance issues, the Oakland Raiders are not leaving the East Bay, at least for the next few years. The Oakland Raiders and the Coliseum Joint Powers Authority have reached an agreement on a lease extension through 2013.
Oakland mayor Ron Dellums speaks during joint AirAsia-Raiders P.C.
After a rocky relationship between the city of Oakland and the Raiders franchise marred the beginning of the Raiders second tenure in Oakland complete with accusations, recriminations, and lawsuits, the Raiders, the city, Alameda County, and the Coliseum commission, have all reached a tentative agreement that will keep the Raiders playing in the Coliseum through the 2013 season.
Scott Haggerty, chairman of the Coliseum Authority addressed the relationship between the Authority and the team, "'This agreement is a milestone in our improved working relationship with the team. There are many uncertainties in Bay Area sports and during these tough economic times, we hope that this agreement will help us build on the great Raiders tradition in the East Bay."
Vice Chairman Ignacio de la Fuente took a more long term view of keeping the Raiders in their ancestral home of Oakland, "Our agreement with the Raiders to extend the existing agreement will allow us to begin working on long-term plans to provide an East Bay home for the Raiders for many years to come."
However, as it stands this is just a quick fix that keeps the Raiders in a home through 2013. The Raiders ultimate goal is a new stadium, complete with all the modern amenities. They currently play in of the smallest and oldest stadia in the league. That, coupled with their struggles to sell season tickets have been continually eating at the value of the franchise. The fact that both sides have been able to come to an agreement is promising for the Raiders being able to get their new stadium in the East Bay.
Raiders CEO Amy Trask hinted that there has been talk of the long term already, "We enjoy a productive working relationship with the City, the County and the Joint Powers Authority and we enjoy collaborating with them on many issues. Both Supervisor Haggerty and Councilmember De La Fuente have discussed some exciting concepts with us --- exciting for the Raiders, the Raider Nation, the community and the region --- and we look forward to further pursuing these ideas."
NOTES:
Bruce Gradkowski has been named the starter for the game on Sunday versus the Browns. Russell has officially been benched.
You can also find Patrick Patterson on Thoughts from the Dark Side.
Comments
It's all coming together! Now no more talk of the Raiders moving back to L.A. Russell being benched is just as good as it gets on a Wednesday in Oakland! Go Gradkowski ...aka Gman. We don't expect miracles, we just expect improvement.
This is great news. I am not overly surprised, as I have never gotten an impression that Al Davis was interested in moving the team out of Oakland again. Despite the lease expiring.I assumed the negotiations might be difficult as both sides realize the need for a new stadium. Although I thought Candlestick was a few years older than the Coliseum. Both sides also realize the financial difficulty that entails. The Raiders can't finance it on their own. At this point the team seems to want to see f there is any way to get a new stadium done without the need to share with the 49ers if it's at all possible. I think in part because Al's 1st choice for a site seems to be Oakland where the current stadium sits now.Based on things he has said, I think Davis would love it if they could just tear down the Oakland Coliseum and build a new state of the art stadium on the same spot. Which would be awesome if they can make it happen.Yes, partly because he doesn't want to share revenue.
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