Athletics co-owner doesn't want to share new stadium with Raiders
Oakland Athletics co-owner Lew Wolff says he doesn’t want the team to share a new stadium with the Raiders but says the team wants to stay in Oakland for long-term.
The first financing report from Coliseum City emissary Floyd Kephart was due Sunday, and Wolff and many around the city said they were interested in reading it.
Kephart said the earliest the Raiders could play in a new stadium would be 2020, if the team doesn’t move to Southern California.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said the A's shouldn’t wait on the Raiders if they want to resolve their issues with getting a new facility built in the city, and is concerned that the two sides aren't moving fast enough on a new project.
Kephart’s plan has the possibility of Oakland building three venues on where the current O.com Coliseum sits, plus expanding space for additional housing, retail and office space. The deal is expected to include selling the land to Raiders and up to $140 million from the city and county.
"We have thoroughly investigated things," Wolff told the Contra Costa Times. "And there is no good way to put two brand-new venues at the Coliseum site. If the Raiders are going to be there, then I don't know what will happen. We'll have to sit down with Rob (Manfred) and see what to do."
Raiders owner Mark Davis said last month that the team has been working on trying to get a new stadium in Oakland for the past six years.
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“We’ve put $500 million on the table and we believe that we could build the stadium in Oakland that would be suitable for the Raiders and our fans for about $900 million," Davis said. "We would need the land and the infrastructure to be taken care of somehow.”
The Carson, Calif., City Council unanimously approved a $1.7 billion NFL stadium plan in April, with the new facility to be shared by the San Diego Chargers and Raiders.
- Scooby Axson
