The Oakland Raiders Owner Mark Davis is said to intend to file for relocating his NFL team to Las Vegas some time between now and February 15th of this year. (Post based on Zennie62blog.com Zennie62 on YouTube vlog by Zennie Abraham.) And, yes, for the second time in as many years. Why Mark Davis hates Oakland so much is a question he will not answer. Since Oakland has a mayoral election every four years, blaming Mayor Libby Schaaf for his actions is nothing more than bull-corn. But, whatever the reason, here we are again dealing with another Davis move that shows he’s great at alienating his fan base. Or does he really want to do that? 

According to comments by NFL Senior Vice President Eric Grubman, the former Goldman Sachs partner who’s the league’s stadium point person, the problem with the proposal that was assembled by The Oakland City Pro Football Group, or called “The Lott Group” with Fortress Investments is that the NFL and the Raiders were not given the chance to own the stadium land. Here’s the main part of the term sheet which is of concern to Grubman and the Raiders:

“The City and the County will also convey approximately 105 net acres of real property at the Coliseum Site, with conveyance of another possible 25 net acres at the Coliseum Site (i.e., the 10 acre Arena site and the 15 acres reserved for a possible A’s ballpark) contingent on that property being added to the Project Site under the conditions set forth in the Project Components discussion above, to the Lott Group pursuant to the terms of the DDA (together, the “Land Conveyance”). (The terms under which the Transit Hub Site will be conveyed for the Project will be negotiated by the City and the Lott Group during the Exclusive Negotiation Period.) The land transaction described above has an estimated value of approximately $150 million. The consideration for the Land Conveyance will be the grant of participation rights in Project revenues by the Lott Group to the City and County as further described below.”

Note that the sole organization that gets the Coliseum site is “the Lott Group.” The problem with the term sheet is that, while it mentions a desire to partner with the National Football League, it does not hold out the NFL and the Raiders as true, equal partners in the deal. That is the reason for Grubman’s reaction and claim that the new Fortress deal is no different than what has been done in the past.

So, with that in mind, here’s my suggested adjustment in the Lott-Oakland Raiders Term Sheet:

First: “The City and the County will also convey approximately 105 net acres of real property at the Coliseum Site to the National Football League and The Oakland Raiders in partnership with The Lott Group, and under terms to be determined via all parties, and with conveyance of another possible 25 net acres at the Coliseum Site (i.e., the 10 acre Arena site and the 15 acres reserved for a possible A’s ballpark) contingent on that property being added to the Project Site under the conditions set forth in the Project Components discussion above, to the Lott Group pursuant to the terms of the DDA (together, the “Land Conveyance”). (The terms under which the Transit Hub Site will be conveyed for the Project will be negotiated by the City and the Lott Group during the Exclusive Negotiation Period.) The land transaction described above has an estimated value of approximately $150 million. The consideration for the Land Conveyance will be the grant of participation rights in Project revenues by the National Football League and The Oakland Raiders in partnership with The Lott Group to the City and County as further described below.”

The change adds the following words: “to the National Football League and The Oakland Raiders in partnership with The Lott Group, and under terms to be determined via all parties”. In effect, the Lott Group would be acquiring the land on behalf of the NFL and the Oakland Raiders, and then agreeing to a deal structure where the NFL and the Raiders control most of the stadium land, and the Lott Group controls all of the additional 25 acres of property.

That sets up an entirely different business relationship than what currently exists. It’s a simple change to make, and according to preliminary conversations I have had with some involved in the matter, it’s a good idea to pursue.

My simple point is to give them what they want. Take away as many avenues to the Raiders and the NFL relocating out of Oakland without spending tax dollars.

Stay tuned.

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