Yahoo Movies One 'significant' issue still stands in way of Raiders playing next season in Oakland
It appeared, after months of reported searching, that the Oakland Raiders would be spending their final season in California in Oakland after all.
That deal, though, has apparently hit a last-second snag.
Oakland-Alameda Coliseum Authority executive director Scott McKibben said on Wednesday, less than one week before they had hoped to have a deal locked down and approved, that there was one major problem still standing in the way.
“We still have one rather significant open issue, and I will be going back to the Raiders to discuss that with them,” McKibben said, via David DeBolt of the Mercury News. “Hopefully we’ll be able to resolve it.
“If we can’t, there’s a possibility that we won’t have a deal.”
BREAKING: Coliseum stadium exec says Raiders deal is 95% there but it’s possible it could unravel if one “significant” issue is not resolved. The Raiders brought the issue to Executive Director Scott McKibben on Friday, per McKibben. pic.twitter.com/bEnMOVB8RC
— David DeBolt (@daviddebolt) March 6, 2019
McKibben declined to go into detail on what the actual issue is, only saying that “it’s an issue for both of us” — meaning the Raiders and the Coliseum Authority.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, however, the issue “involves the finances and taxes” of the team’s headquarters and training facility in Alameda, California. They are currently paying $525,000 in rent for that facility.
“It requires an agreement from both of us, and we have a difference of opinion,” he said.
“This could very likely put us in a position where there is not a deal.”
The Raiders have been struggling to find a temporary home ever since they announced that they would not be playing at the Coliseum in 2019. With their stadium in Las Vegas not scheduled to be ready until the 2020 season, the Raiders were left with limited options.
Reports surfaced that the team was planning to play next season at Oracle Park — the home of the San Francisco Giants — but that was shut down after the 49ers refused to waive territorial rights and the San Francisco mayor criticized the plan.
Reports last year said the team could even spend next season in London — something the NFL has long had a desire to try out. If nothing else, the Raiders could end up sharing Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers.
Whatever the plan is, though, the Raiders are running out of time. The NFL needs to know where they will be playing in order to finalize the schedule for the entire league next season.
McKibben said the initial plan was to have the plan approved by next Friday, and that he hoped to have the final issue ironed out by Monday or Tuesday.
As far as the business side of the deal, McKibben sounded confident. They had raised the rent, retained the naming rights to the stadium and fixed a parking dispute.
That one final issue, though, still stands in the way.
“On the business terms of this deal, we’re 95 percent there,” McKibben said. “But there’s this one big issue that we need to work out.”
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