Sorry Raider Nation, it appears like you've got yourself a one-sided love affair. Despite efforts this week by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf to convince top NFL officials that the potential Oakland Raiders' fan base is huge (as it includes disenchanted 49ers fans), and thus the team should remain in the East Bay, the Raiders furthered their bid yesterday to move to the Los Angeles area.
The Chronicle reports that team owners brought Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger in to spearhead a potential LA stadium development deal that would result in the Raiders and the San Diego Chargers sharing a stadium in Carson (a suburb of Los Angeles).
This is a big deal.
The Chronicle notes that former Raiders CEO Amy Trask called out this move as demonstrating “how utterly committed they are to relocating.”
This announcement comes as Schaaf has continued to refuse to pledge additional tax-payer money in an attempt to convince the team to stay — a move praised by sports economists.
“I wish every city would say that,” University of South Florida economics Professor Philip Porter told the Chronicle. "[Subsidy] awards tend to just be gifts to the teams.”
However, just because the Raiders' owners really, really want leave Oakland doesn't mean they actually will — the St. Louis Rams are also making a play for a LA Stadium and may ultimately succeed over the Raiders and Chargers.
If the team does ultimately end up staying, it will likely be a result of a failed LA deal and not a change of heart. Or, who knows, maybe Schaaf's PowerPoint presentation to NFL officials (embedded below) — which aggressively pushed the narrative of Oakland being the next tech mecca and thus worth a team — will have had something to do with it.
