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The Oakland Athletics have added an additional ten years to their lease at the O.co Coliseum. Hearing that in passing it may not seem like a big deal. However, this puts the Oakland Raiders, the shared tenants of the O.co Coliseum, in a huge bind going forward as they want to build a new stadium.
The original plan was to let the lease of the O.co Coliseum run out at the end of 2015, knock it down, and build two new stadiums (one for baseball and one for football) where the old stadium was. Since the Athletics have agreed to play in the O.co Coliseum for ten more years, that plan is completely squashed.
Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis has been clear saying that he wants a new stadium in which the Raiders are the only tenants, not a shared stadium with the Athletics. He says the only way to do that is for the stadium “to come down. So (the Athletics) staying does make a problem, there’s no two ways about it.”
If the Raiders can’t get their way in Oakland there is definitely an outside chance that they move out of the Bay Area. Obviously the original plan was for them to stay in Oakland, but if a new deal can’t get done then who’s to say they don’t pack up and move back to Los Angeles? That may be the only option for the Raiders unless they want to stay in the O.co Coliseum for another ten years.
Another potential option is the Raiders temporarily moving in with the San Francisco 49ers at the brand new Levi’s Stadium until a new stadium in Oakland is complete. However, the Raiders already said that they want a building in which they are the lone tenants so this may not be an option.
The Raiders are definitely in a bad situation in this and the future of football in Oakland is murky right now. This will surely be an interesting story to keep an eye on.
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