OAKLAND, Calif. (CelebrityAccess) The Oakland-Alameda County Stadium Authority, the board that oversees the Oakland Coliseum in California, has decided to reopen lease discussions with the Oakland Raiders to get them to return to the facility for one more season before the football team leaves for an eventual move to Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, the NFL team continues to talk with Levi Stadium, home to the San Francisco 49ers, for a place to play in the upcoming football season. The Authority made its decision in a closed session on Friday to restart talks with the team that broke down in December, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Oakland had filed a lawsuit against the NFL and its 32 teams regarding the Raiders’ move to Glitter Gulch, where the team is building a $1.6 billion, taxpayer-supported stadium. The Coliseum Authority offered a $7.5 million, one-lease to the team for its old haunts, the Oakland Coliseum, plus an option for a second year at $9.5 million if the Vegas stadium isn’t ready by next year.
The football team paid $3.5 million for its most-recent lease, which expired Wednesday, according to the San Francisco Business Times.
The Raiders are reportedly looking at Levi Stadium, the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park, and even San Diego, Mississippi and London for the 2019 season. The Raiders will need to make a decision by next month in order for the NFL to set the schedule for the other 31 teams.
Meanwhile, if the Raiders choose Oracle Park, the 49ers would have to waive that franchise’s territorial rights of San Francisco, plus the NFL would have to sign off on the move.
