Scott Davis L A Oakland Raiders top article picksBy Jake O'Donnel
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King believes wholeheartedly that the Oakland Raiders will not get a new stadium in the Bay Area, and instead will move into the new riverfront stadium the city of St. Louis has been pitching to the Rams. The Rams — owned by real estate mogul and Missouri-native Stan Kroenke — have positioned themselves to return to Los Angeles, which King also believes will happen. Kroenke recently bought a massive plot of land in Hollywood Park (where the old race track currently resides). The Chargers have been the odd man out in all of this, stuck somewhere between a crappy old stadium, a stubborn municipality and the prospect of moving to a city that doesn’t want them. Unlike the Rams and Raiders — who were initially reported to be in talks to share a stadium in Los Angeles — the Chargers have no history with the city. In fact, last month a petition drive was held in Carson, California (just outside Los Angeles) to gather signatures for a potential joint-stadium between the Raiders and Bolts, and the turnout was decidedly pro-Raiders. But the moves make sense as King laid them out today on The Dan Patrick Show. The Rams get to leave St. Louis after tumultuous negotiations for a new stadium spoiled their relationship with the city, Kroenke gets his Los Angeles megaplex, the Chargers get a new stadium that they don’t have to share with the infinitely more popular Raiders, the Raiders get a new stadium for themselves and the NFL doesn’t have to worry about the historically badass Raiders contingency running amok in Los Angeles again. It’s a win/win/win/win/win/lose. (The “loss” is for the city of San Diego.) Designs for both Chargers proposals in San Diego, both dual-use stadiums in Los Angeles and the riverfront stadium in St. Louis, below. better articles, image promoted by scott davis la oakland raider footbal nfl Oakland's billion-dollar Coliseum City plan is ready for a big scoreforwarded by scott davis raider football
by Ron Leuty An agreement between Oakland and Alameda County that could pave the way for the massive Coliseum City development — including new stadiums for the Oakland Raiders and Oakland Athletics — will come before city and county leaders over the next few days. Oakland City Council members are set to vote in a special session late Friday morning on a new exclusive negotiating agreement between the city, county and New City Development LLC, the group led by Floyd Kephart that is trying to pull together the project. The county could vote on the deal either Friday or Tuesday. Bringing the city and county together on the exclusive negotiating agreement, or ENA, would be a major step forward in the $1.5 billion, 200-acre first phase of the Coliseum City project. It would mark the first time the city and county have addressed their joint ownership of the land that holds O.co Coliseum, the home of the Raiders and A's, and the Golden State Warriors' Oracle Arena. New City in October won an ENA with the city, which expires April 21. But Kephart said his team — and the Raiders — has been hamstrung on development and financing plans for a 55,000-seat Raiders stadium without the county's involvement in land discussions for the new project. "The No. 1 condition from the Raiders to stay is, 'Tell us how to deal with the land,'" Kephart said. The new ENA continues to allow the Raiders and A's the option of bypassing New City and submitting their own stadium plans. The soonest a new stadium could host the National Football League Raiders, who have made rumblings about moving to the Los Angeles area or San Antonio but recently signed a one-year Coliseum lease, would be the 2019 season, Kephart said. That assumes final approval of plans and permits next summer and a 32-month build-out. read more... latest article... article selections and images by Scott Davis LA Oakland Raiders football NFL Raiders , Chargers Release LA PlanBy Eric D. Williams
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders announced Thursday that they have collaborated on a proposal to build a privately financed, $1.7 billion stadium in Carson, California, that the two teams would share if they relocate to the Los Angeles market. In a joint statement, the Chargers and Raiders said they have been working for many years in their home markets to find stadium solutions and that they remain committed throughout 2015 to try to seek publicly acceptable solutions to the stadium issues in their current cities However, according to the statement, the two teams also will continue to work in Carson to preserve their options in the event that efforts in their local markets fail. Both teams have kept the NFL committee handling the possible relocation of teams to Los Angeles informed of their efforts. "We are pursuing this stadium option in Carson for one straightforward reason: If we cannot find a permanent solution in our home markets, we have no alternative but to preserve other options to guarantee the future economic viability of our franchises," the teams said in the joint statement. The agreement was earlier reported by the Los Angeles Times. A source involved in the negotiations told ESPN.com's Arash Markazi that the Chargers came to Carson officials first with the stadium proposal nine months ago and that the Raiders later joined the talks, which intensified after St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke announced plans in January to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood. The Chargers and Raiders are partnering with a local development group. The site of the proposed stadium is a 168-acre parcel near the 405 freeway in Carson. The city is 15 miles south of downtown Los Angeles and is home to Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy. The group intends to start a petition drive for a ballot initiative to get voter approval to build the stadium. This latest development comes a month and a half after an announcement in which a developer and a company operated by Kroenke unveiled plans to build a stadium on land he owns near Hollywood Park. In addition, a plan for an NFL facility in downtown Los Angeles remains alive. The would-be stadium known as Farmers Field, until recently the leading candidate for the NFL's return, now becomes a long shot with multiple competitors and no clear team attached. Los Angeles has not had an NFL team since the Rams and Raiders departed for St. Louis and Oakland, respectively, in 1995. The Chargers, the Raiders and the Rams are teams that could potentially relocate to the lucrative Los Angeles market in the near future. All three teams can terminate their leases at the end of the 2015 season. If the Chargers and Raiders move to Los Angeles after the 2015 season, they would have to play in a temporary home for at least two seasons while the stadium in Carson is being built. Both teams would prefer to play at the Rose Bowl because it is more NFL-ready than the Los Angeles Coliseum, a source told Markazi. The Rose Bowl recently underwent $182 million in improvements, including new suites, club seats and refurbished locker rooms, while USC, which took control of the Coliseum, is still unsure of renovation plans. In addition, since both the Chargers and Raiders play in the AFC West, one team would have to move to the NFC, likely switching places with an NFC West team. That decision ultimately would be the NFL's, but a source told Markazi that a move to the NFC would not deter the Chargers or Raiders from making the move to Los Angeles. In January, the Chargers denied speculation emanating from St. Louis that the team had an agreement in place for a new stadium in Los Angeles. The Chargers have tried unsuccessfully for 14 years to build enough momentum to get a new stadium in their home city. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer appointed a nine-member stadium advisory group to come up with a recommendation for a stadium site and a financing plan last month, but the team has viewed that effort as a futile, last-ditch attempt to keep the team in San Diego. "It's now abundantly clear that while we have been working here in San Diego to create a plan for a new stadium, the Chargers have for some time been making their own plans for moving to Los Angeles," Faulconer said in a statement Thursday night. "This would amount to abandoning generations of loyal Chargers fans. Despite this news, we are going to continue our efforts to develop a viable stadium solution." Adam Day, chairman of the volunteer stadium task force, said Thursday's announcement came as "a complete surprise." "While it's disappointing to hear the Chargers are moving forward with plans in Los Angeles, we remain committed to finding a solution in San Diego," he said. The Raiders currently play in the aging Oakland Coliseum. The rundown stadium has had sewage and electrical problems in the past year, and now is the only stadium in the U.S. used as the home for both an NFL and a Major League Baseball team, the Oakland Athletics. The team wants to build a new stadium at the site, but talks with the city have shown little progress. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said she spoke Thursday night with team president and CEO Marc Badain, "and he continued to assure me that the Raiders' first priority is to stay in Oakland in a new stadium." Schaaf said she wants to be "a responsible steward of the public dollar, to keep my sports teams" and to redevelop the neighborhood around the Coliseum. She added: "I am committed to not putting public dollars into stadium construction." The Rams have been in a similar struggle with St. Louis but have made progress with a burgeoning plan for a 64,000-seat stadium on the city's north riverfront. "Our focus is 100 percent committed to keeping the Rams here in their home of St. Louis and ensuring that we remain an NFL city for generations to come," said former Anheuser-Busch president Dave Peacock, who is heading the effort to keep the Rams in St. Louis. "We are very encouraged and thrilled with the progress we've made." All three teams have Los Angeles ties. The Rams called the area home from 1946 to 1994, the Raiders were there from 1982 to 1994 and the Chargers played their inaugural 1960 season in L.A. Promoted by Scott Davis Raider News Oakland Raiders and their options for a new stadium See Full Article from March 19th The Oakland Raiders have options in the City of Oakland concerning the stadium issue at hand. Mark Davis claims he would take the team to Los Angeles if some plan is not presented in short order. The City of oakland has a plan or two...read more Scott Davis promotes better articles from around the web |
AuthorScott Davis is a retired Oakland Raider and writes several blogs and produces several social content sites Raider's News Articles and ImagesUpdated News Stories & Articles on the Oakland Raiders Organization, NFL Football Players, Sports Information Archives
March 2016
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