Deal Between City, NFL Could Keep the Raiders in Oakland
The Oakland Raiders may remain in Oakland after all if the city can solidify a plan for the NFL to act as developer of a new stadium and surrounding development.
Oakland is working against a Dec. 28 deadline set by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell calling for Oakland, San Diego and St. Louis to put forth plans to keep their football teams. The Raiders, lured by the call of a new stadium in Carson, can choose to file for relocation Jan. 4.
At our Bisnow event in Oakland last month, Mayor Libby Schaaf said she was seeking ways to keep the Raiders local. But, the city would not subsidize construction of the stadium, according to the San Francisco Business Times. Under the plan, the NFL could provide security for ground lease payments and revenue to pay off stadium bonds while joining as a partner on "Coliseum City," which would include office space, housing, retail and hospitality.
Previous plans have included loans of $200M to $250M from the NFL and similar investment from the Raiders toward a stadium, which could cost around $900M. Adding development at the site would help to draw in additional investors, though the NFL has historically been against larger projects that could slow stadium construction.
The last proposal, a $4B development on the site of the O.co Coliseum, fell by the wayside at the end of September. [SFBT]
