OAKLAND, Calif. _ Mayor Libby Schaaf vowed Friday that Oakland is trying to keep the Raiders while for the first time sharing details of investors' plans in a last-minute attempt to change the narrative that the NFL doesn't have an alternative in the East Bay.
"We're not giving up in the fourth quarter," Schaaf said in a statement. "Since I took office two years ago, I have been focused on taking a team-centered approach that is responsible to the Raiders, the NFL, the fans and the taxpayers of Oakland."
Schaaf said officials have done the necessary work to offer a solid plan to build a $1.3 billion stadium on the current site of the Coliseum.
"We've been successful in doing the environmental clearance, aligning the City and the County which jointly own the land, engaging the league and bringing partners to the table in the Lott Group and Fortress who have the financial backing, compassion for this community and intimate knowledge of the game _ on and off the field _ to get a deal done.
"All that's missing is the Raiders."
However, the action might be too late. All indications are that NFL owners will approve the Raiders' relocation to Las Vegas when they gather for annual meetings starting Sunday in Phoenix. A relocation vote is expected Monday. Owner Mark Davis needs 24 of the 32 owners to sanction the team's third move in 35 years.
The approval is expected even with questions looming over how the financing will work for a $1.9 billion domed-roof stadium next to the Las Vegas Strip. Owners could give the Raiders a green light with contingencies as they have not yet signed a lease with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, which will own the 65,000-seat facility.
Stanford sports economist Roger Noll, one of the leading critics of the Las Vegas deal, said NFL owners won't go along with the Oakland plan as presented Friday.
"It's apparent to anybody who reads it carefully, this is an excellent example of why the NFL never allows a third-party to be the main entity to put together a stadium deal," Noll said.
He said the way it is structured, Fortress and the East Bay governments aren't risking much compared to Davis. Fortress' $600 million loan would presumably mean the team is collateral, Noll added.
"That is equivalent to Mark Davis selling roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of the team to Fortress," Noll said, adding it is similar to a deal the Raiders rejected with Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
East Bay officials are not giving up hope. Schaff outlined the Oakland plan in a letter dated March 23 that was sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and executive vice president Eric Grubman.
In a follow-up letter sent Friday, the mayor shared specific renderings of how the proposed project would look with only an NFL stadium and with a ballpark for the Athletics. The plan calls for a 55,000-seat Raiders' stadium in the southwest corner of the 150-acre site where the Coliseum and Oracle Arena are located.
The ballpark would fit in the northeast corner with a mixed-use development separating the two sports facilities in what would become a "commons" area filled with retail, restaurants and offices.
If the A's chose to build elsewhere, the proposed plan would add more mixed-use development to the property.
The letter promised NFL executives that the city would expedite the permit process to ensure the stadium is not entangled in bureaucratic delays.
"The 55-acre southern portion of the site is immediately available for construction," Schaaf wrote in the letter.
She wrote that New York-based hedge fund Fortress Management Group is willing to work with the Raiders on favorable terms for a $600 million contribution. That could mean being a vendor/guarantor of the money or a regularly structured loan similar to what Bank of America might be offering in Las Vegas. The proposed plan also calls for $200 million from the city _ $150 million in a conveyance of the property that the public now owns. The Raiders' would add $500 million _ as they are in Las Vegas _ that includes a $200 million loan from the NFL as part of the league's stadium upgrade program.
Schaaf said $150 million of the public's investment would be advanced by Fortress until tax increments from the development kick in to pay it off.
Fortress, the mayor wrote, would use the up-front value of the land to make a $150 million investment in stadium development. Scaff said the city and Alameda County would have "full site control over the land."
The mayor also addressed the NFL's major concern _ the Athletics' need to share the Coliseum with the Raiders until the new football stadium is ready.
"We earnestly hope that your request is not a take-it-or-leave-it condition," Schaaf wrote.
She added the request is problematic as the city and county try to accommodate two local sports teams.
"We believe we have a superior proposal, at a proven site, in a much stronger market," Schaaf wrote, adding that the Bay Area is the country's sixth-ranked market compared to Las Vegas at No. 40.
She wrote that the Oakland plan will be $600 million to $700 million less expensive than the southern Nevada stadium proposal that is expected to have added infrastructure costs that have yet to be outlined.
