Oakland Leaders To Meet With NFL In Attempt To Keep Raiders
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – It could be Oakland's last chance to convince the Raiders and the NFL the team should stay. The league invited Mayor Libby Schaff and other city leaders to pitch a stadium plan next week.
"The Raiders belong in Oakland," Schaaf told KPIX 5 Tuesday evening.
Schaff will make a presentation to the NFL in New York next Wednesday on her plans to keep the Raiders in Oakland.
"We respect that the Raiders have been frustrated with their relationship with the city, and we will bring more clarity about exactly what the city can do that is responsible with the taxpayer dollars," Schaaf said.
It's not clear whether Schaaf will be selling the city or a detailed financing plan that would impress owners. The mayor has said no taxpayer money would be committed to building a stadium.
Oakland has just now hired a consultant to study how to pay for the nearly $1 billion project.
Even so, it will be the first presentation from the city of Oakland to any owner's group.
At a gathering of NFL owners in May, the absence of any Oakland plan was noted by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
"Oakland, I have not heard directly from. So, I do not know, I do not have an update on that," Goodell said. "I don't know if it's a point of frustration. But it's certainly a point of information."
Next week's meeting with NFL officials in New York could be a tough sell for Oakland.
Other cities fighting to keep their teams, St. Louis and San Diego, are further along in their planning, and time is running short.
"The Raiders have been in Oakland a long time. It is not a last ditch effort, we are not in a moment of desperation," Schaaf said.
