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Oakland Raiders owner talks to San Antonio officials
I'd be shocked to see this really happen, but I guess in some ways it makes sense. The Raiders lease with Oakland is up after this season and so far they don't have plans in place for a new stadium. San Antonio has the Alamo Dome which hosted the Saints for several games after Katrina and also is home to the UTSA football team. It's not a NFL ready stadium, but it would do for a year or two while a new one was built. It also allows the Raiders to move immediately.
I don't imagine ticket sales would be an issue either. The state of Texas loves football and San Antonio has been pretty open about wanting a team despite Dallas and Houston having one. The Raiders would likely be embraced immediately by the city. While they question it in the video on the above link, I don't think funding for a stadium would be to difficult though they likely will not get a 1 billion dollar state of the art one. San Antonio has the want for a NFL team and enough large companies to likely fund something. They could also try to pull Austin into it for funding as Austin is only 70 miles away and booming with large tech companies moving out of California.
Why it's not likely to happen though
San Antonio is a much smaller market. I think the rabid football fan base in the state would make up for some of that, but nothing can make up the TV market difference. While I believe the team and city could likely workout a stadium deal it's not a 100% and the Raiders might want more than the city could offer. Mark Davis would also have to accept being the 3rd wheel team in Texas. Which is something I don't think should be an issue considering the state has 3 NBA teams that have all won championships, but if pride is an issue he would have to swallow it for a few years. You also have to wonder if the NFL would let a team move to San Antonio. The Cowboys and Texans would lose a huge chunk of their market as both teams draw heavily from Austin and San Antonio.
In the end I think this is just a ploy by Davis to put pressure on Oakland for a new stadium. L.A. is no where near ready to have a team move into town, and even when they are it seems the Raiders are not likely to be the team moving in. The guys in the video make the comment that Davis does not have the money to buy into a new stadium in L.A. nor would the NFL want the Raiders to be the team there. They claim the Rams and Chargers are the most likely teams to relocate to L.A (though I still feel the Jaguars could be that team). So if he can't realistically use L.A. as a bargaining chip why not use San Antonio? It's likely the only realistic city he could immediately move the team to after this season even if it's not likely to happen.
What do you guys think?
Is an NFL team in Oakland hopeless at this point?
Are there better options out there for them to relocate?
I'd be shocked to see this really happen, but I guess in some ways it makes sense. The Raiders lease with Oakland is up after this season and so far they don't have plans in place for a new stadium. San Antonio has the Alamo Dome which hosted the Saints for several games after Katrina and also is home to the UTSA football team. It's not a NFL ready stadium, but it would do for a year or two while a new one was built. It also allows the Raiders to move immediately.
I don't imagine ticket sales would be an issue either. The state of Texas loves football and San Antonio has been pretty open about wanting a team despite Dallas and Houston having one. The Raiders would likely be embraced immediately by the city. While they question it in the video on the above link, I don't think funding for a stadium would be to difficult though they likely will not get a 1 billion dollar state of the art one. San Antonio has the want for a NFL team and enough large companies to likely fund something. They could also try to pull Austin into it for funding as Austin is only 70 miles away and booming with large tech companies moving out of California.
Why it's not likely to happen though
San Antonio is a much smaller market. I think the rabid football fan base in the state would make up for some of that, but nothing can make up the TV market difference. While I believe the team and city could likely workout a stadium deal it's not a 100% and the Raiders might want more than the city could offer. Mark Davis would also have to accept being the 3rd wheel team in Texas. Which is something I don't think should be an issue considering the state has 3 NBA teams that have all won championships, but if pride is an issue he would have to swallow it for a few years. You also have to wonder if the NFL would let a team move to San Antonio. The Cowboys and Texans would lose a huge chunk of their market as both teams draw heavily from Austin and San Antonio.
In the end I think this is just a ploy by Davis to put pressure on Oakland for a new stadium. L.A. is no where near ready to have a team move into town, and even when they are it seems the Raiders are not likely to be the team moving in. The guys in the video make the comment that Davis does not have the money to buy into a new stadium in L.A. nor would the NFL want the Raiders to be the team there. They claim the Rams and Chargers are the most likely teams to relocate to L.A (though I still feel the Jaguars could be that team). So if he can't realistically use L.A. as a bargaining chip why not use San Antonio? It's likely the only realistic city he could immediately move the team to after this season even if it's not likely to happen.
What do you guys think?
Is an NFL team in Oakland hopeless at this point?
Are there better options out there for them to relocate?
