Oakland Raiders Teasing Move to San Antonio, Twitter Reacts
If Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis has his way, Texas would have two professional sports team donning black and silver.
Davis recently met with San Antonio officials to discuss moving the Bay Area team to the Lone Star State. The Raiders, whose least at O.co Coliseum expires at season's end, would presumably play in the Alamodome while a new stadium is built.
Coincidentally, the visit comes weeks after Major League Baseball's Athletics hit the city with a similar ultimatum: grant a 10-year lease extension or risk relocation.
On Tuesday, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved the A's deal which expects to bring in and estimated $20 million to the city and county.
In a memo released late Tuesday, San Antonio City Manager Sherly Sculley confirmed the meeting took place.
"I was asked to meet two weeks ago with the owner of the Oakland Raiders, Mark Davis, and member of his staff. Mr. Davis has expressed interest in a possible relocation of his NFL team to San Antonio and we are engaged in preliminary due diligence," Sculley wrote.
The Raiders haven't commented on their potential move, other than to tweet of the meeting's validity.
https://twitter.com/RAIDERS/statuses/494256743413600257
Social media reaction came swiftly, with many calling Oakland's bluff.
https://twitter.com/MichelleDBeadle/status/494271990035791872
https://twitter.com/JohnMiddlekauff/status/494233776029831168
https://twitter.com/rockyfernandez/status/494318649625149440
Others were more welcoming.
https://twitter.com/Jerrymcd/status/494255110944329728
https://twitter.com/ijuangonz/status/494330799366619136
https://twitter.com/darthriordan/status/494337620210511873
If Davis isn't looking for leverage- and is legitimately planning on moving the team- he would need approval from 24 of 32 NFL owners. That includes Dallas Cowboys President and General Manager Jerry Jones.
In speaking with the Star-Telegram, Jones said he thought initial reports were a joke.
"What I will say is San Antonio is very important to the Dallas Cowboys," he said. "We have the exact same percentage of fans in San Antonio as we do in Plano, Texas, about 98 percent." He added "I know that certainly San Antonio is a great city and a great sports town. I'd like for some of that stuff that's in the drinking water down there that the Spurs get, to have some of that with the Cowboys."
At this point, Davis is dangling a string in front of Oakland and San Antonio. The A's built a stipulation into their deal allowing the Raiders to knock down O.co Coliseum if they can get an additional $600 million in funding.
There is also the issue of what type of stadium to build. The Raiders reportedly want a smaller, open-air stadium a la Denver's Sports Authority Field. City officials desire a multi-purpose stadium that would attract other events.
The bottom line is Davis wants a new stadium. If Oakland can't give it to him, the Raiders may spend the next season or two playing in San Antonio's 21-year-old Alamodome.