OAKLAND (KRON) — The Oakland Raiders are one of the biggest stories in the NFL right now, and most fans are happy the team is still in Oakland.
And many fans hope it stays that way.
The Oakland City Council is meeting once again in a closed session on Tuesday night, discussing Ronnie Lott’s plan to keep the Raiders from leaving.
It’s a topic that has many layers.
On Tuesday, KRON4’s Mark Carpenter spoke to an executive that’s well versed in the business of Bay Area sports.
Earlier Tuesday afternoon, Mark spoke with Andy Dolich, a former front office executive that’s worked with multiple franchises including the Oakland A’s, Golden State Warriors, and the San Francisco 49ers.
Dolich knows the inner workings of negotiations.
And while he thinks it is in the best interest of the Raiders to stay put, he feels that the city is a little too late in drawing up a play to keep them here.
“This has taken way too long, and another factor in this is that these stadium deals don’t happen overnight,” Dolich said. “Let’s look at history, Giants, four failed elections, 16 years before the miracle of what was Pac Bell Park, and now AT&T. The Niners, that was eight-to-10 years before Levi’s became real. These things don’t happen overnight, so to think that in closed session, you’re going to come out with an aha moment, and a deal is going to be done, and you’re going to be playing in a new stadium, is not realistic.”
So far, not many details have come out on what Lott’s group has in store.
So what is realistic is the blueprint for a $2 billion stadium, backed by funding from the State of Nevada and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.
Another factor that Dolich cited is the fact that neither Lott nor the city has met with Mark Davis.
“If you don’t have a deal in principle with the Raiders, and the A’s to a certain extent, who have veto power in this, I question the legitimacy of the deal,” Dolich said. “You have two people negotiating on a deal, the Lott group, the city, and the county. They may come to an agreement, but you are missing an essential part and that is the actual product.”
According to NFL relocation rules, a team cannot apply to move if there is a viable option in its home market.
It’s not known if Lott’s plan meets the criteria.
But if it does, there’s another franchise to consider–where will the A’s eventually end up?
New team president David Kaval has said he wants a new stadium in Oakland, so the desires of the green and gold could trump what happens with the silver and black.
“I believe that the A’s have incredible veto power on whatever the Raiders do, especially if it’s somewhere on the Coliseum site. So, this is a real game of poker played with hundreds of millions or a billion dollars where people are basically looking at each other right in the eyes and seeing who’s going to blink first, who’s going to fold, or who’s going to call,” Dolich said.
As of now, the NFL owners are set to discuss all of this when they meet early next year.
We’ll see if the city of Oakland’s proposal is enough to make them not even consider the Vegas option.