Oakland Fan's Desperate Hail Mary To Keep Raiders From Moving To Vegas
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- A major vote by Nevada lawmakers soon could put the Oakland Raiders on track for a move to Las Vegas, but a fan is trying to pull off a goal-line stand.
Call it a long shot or a desperate Hail Mary, but John Lupo is not about to give up on the Raiders.
He's the guy who made the "Stay in Oakland" signs.
Lupo says a couple of Nevada organizations reached out to him and he made cards for them, trying to stop Nevada lawmakers from using public money to pay for a stadium.
"We're hoping to get as many emails as possible, and it we can get the cards in to the legislature's hands on Monday morning," says Lupo.
He and others are trying to get Nevada voters to put pressure on their lawmakers.
The Nevada governor called a special session for Monday. They'll vote on whether or not to raise the hotel tax. If passed, taxpayers will chip in $750 million toward a stadium in Las Vegas.
Some Nevada groups say this is giving welfare to the rich.
"Why are we going to supply billionaires funding if they can build it themselves," says Lupo.
Given it's a special session, some Bay Area fans believe the Nevada governor must know he probably has enough votes to pass it.
"Even though the Nevada thing, we assume it's a yes, it's going to go forward Monday," says Chris Dobbins, founder of Save Oakland Sports. "They still have many hurdles to go forward. So we're you know, let's just stay baby."
Oakland fans aren't giving up. They believe NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and his investment group can build a stadium in town.
"Lott and his team has the NFL connection, the knowledge and the money," says Griz Jones, head of Forever Oakland.
Ronnie Lott's group is negotiating with the city and county to either buy or lease the land, the coliseum site. He would then build a stadium here.
