Oakland Scrapping Raiders Plan, Eyes Smaller Project
It's looking like the plan to keep the Oakland Raiders from traveling south to LA has hit a major speed bump, and the city is tossing out its current plans in favor of a heavily scaled back pitch to keep the Silver and Black in the Bay.
Though some have argued the Raiders won't leave Oakland's die-hard fans, city and county officials are now not expected to extend the exclusive negotiating agreement for the massive Coliseum City development beyond its Sept. 24 expiration. Officials instead hope to work on a stadium-only plan.
Floyd Kephart’s New City Development has been trying to organize a $4B development for sports, housing, retail and offices on the site of the O.co Coliseum. Agreements have not been reached with the city and county or the Raiders and Athletics. Meanwhile, Carson in SoCal has already approved a $1.7M stadium for the Raiders and San Diego Chargers to share, rendered here.
Kephart expects to receive a letter from officials explaining why they will not extend the current window. He indicates another agreement is possible, but would be much different in form. [SFBT]
