OAKLAND, Calif. _ Ronnie Lott's investment group said Tuesday it is ready to work with the Raiders on a stadium project in Oakland, a day after a major Las Vegas investor withdrew from a deal for a $1.9 billion facility in Nevada and the same day reports emerged that Goldman Sachs is also pulling out.
Representatives of a group trying to keep the Raiders in the Bay Area reinforced their willingness to develop in Oakland after billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson withdrew from the Las Vegas deal.
"We have the land available at the existing Coliseum site following the actions of the City of Oakland and Alameda County last December," the Lott Group said in a statement. "We have a strong financing partner in Fortress Investment Group. We have an additional $100 million due to the NFL incentive to keep the Raiders in Oakland. Bottom line, if the Raiders want to stay in Oakland, we are more than ready to be a partner in making that happen."
Adelson, chief executive of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and a major contributor to President Donald Trump, was expected to invest $650 million in a 65,000-seat domed stadium. The Raiders say they can do the deal with the help of investment bank Goldman Sachs although they haven't publicly provided details about how the financing would work. But the investment bank is "re-evaluating its relationship with the planned deal," according to ESPN, citing a source "close to the negotiations."
An investment group including former 49ers and Raiders star Ronnie Lott has proposed to build a $1.25 billion, 55,000-seat stadium at the team's present site. The proposal has received little attention while Raiders owner Mark Davis focused on relocating to Las Vegas.
Jim Zelinski of Save Oakland Sports has started a petition to keep the team in the East Bay.
"We are going to continue to press extremely hard, go to the mat, try to convince the entire NFL ownership that keeping the Raiders in Oakland is in everyone's best interest," he said.
