Which California Neighborhood Could Win the Raiders Sweepstakes?
It’s never a dull moment with the Oakland Raiders.
Just when it looked like the NFL franchise had everything it needed to move to Las Vegas where a state-of-the-art stadium awaited them, they lost the project’s biggest financial backer. Sheldon Adelson, arguably the most powerful person in Las Vegas, decided to pull his $650 million contribution to the plan. Then, investment bank Goldman Sachs withdrew its financial support as well, leaving only the $750 million in bonds approved by Nevada to pay for the $1.9 billion stadium.
While there’s still plenty of interest from the franchise, the city, and the state to make the move happen, the Raiders may need to face facts that, at least temporarily, they won’t be moving to Las Vegas. If that’s the case, where would the team go from here?
Let’s start with the most obvious solution, staying put in Oakland Coliseum. Located in Oakland’s Central East region. The biggest issue is that the Coliseum is the second smallest NFL stadium and that’s only because the Chargers are calling tiny StubHub Center their home for the next few years. The team was leaving Oakland because it’s offer of $200 million in infrastructure improvements wasn’t enough. That offer is still on the table but the mayor recently reaffirmed that the city will not subsidizing stadium construction. So, while the Raiders might remain in Oakland a little longer than expected, there’s still a good chance they’ll leave sooner or later, wherever they end up.
To many, the logical solution for the Raiders if Las Vegas falls through is to move to Santa Clara and share the $1.2 billion Levi’s Stadium with the San Francisco 49ers. Located close to Mission Park, the stadium was actually built with the potential to house two different NFL franchises and the idea has been floated before. If the Raiders want to stay within driving distance of their fanbase and lock down a larger home for the time being, it might not be a bad idea.
Of course, the notion that immediately came to mind to a lot of people was San Diego. The Southern California city just lost it’s NFL franchise and has a stadium ready to go if someone else would want to use it. If fact, the city has already reached out to the NFL to let them know they’re interested. However, San Diego’s stadium in Mission Valley wasn’t good enough to keep the Chargers and the city didn’t promise a lot of money (by NFL standards) for renovations or a new home. That’s unlikely to change for the Raiders, so even this could be a temporary move if it happened.
Of course, there are plenty more options on the table. The Raiders have flirted with San Antonio, TX in the past and there’s still a strong possibility they’re able to make the Vegas move happen. Who knows what other cities might jump into the fray as well. Like we said up top, the Raiders are many things but they are never dull.
Sources:
Raiders' Proposed Las Vegas NFL Stadium Offers Sleek Design, Strip Views [N'hoods]
Raiders’ move to Las Vegas on brink of collapse with reported further loss of funding [WaPo]
10 key questions answered about proposed Raiders stadium in Las Vegas [LVRJ]
Oakland: Schaaf says no to Raiders stadium construction subsidies [EBT]
Santa Clara Officials Open to Raiders Shacking Up with 49ers [SJI]