Proposed Oakland A's Lease Extension At O.co Coliseum Could Drive Raiders Out Of Town
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- A proposed 10-year lease extension at O.co Coliseum by the Oakland A's have some saying the deal would be the catalyst to drive the Raiders out of town.
Critics of the proposal by A's owner Lew Wolff have called the deal one-sided and argue the Raiders don't want a Coliseum roommate for potentially another 10 years.
"It's extremely risky," said Bryan Cauwels, president of booster group Save Oakland Sports. I do believe this could result in the Raiders leaving Oakland by signing the agreement."
The 10-year-lease has out clauses that say if the Raiders build a new football stadium on the Coliseum site, the A's would move out. "People would think this is the Raiders kicking the A's out of Oakland," said Cauwels.
He and many others believe the A's lease contract makes the Raiders look like a bully and sends the wrong message to Raiders' owner Mark Davis.
The Raiders, are the only one among the three Oakland teams including the Warriors who have indicated they want to stay in Oakland and spend $400 million toward a new stadium, as owner Mark Davis has said.
"We're trying to get something done up here," said Davis, "But if we can't, we've got to get something done somewhere."
