Raiders executives sniff around San Antonio for new stadium

[thelakelander]

Glad to see Jacksonville not being a subject of these type of articles anymore:

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis and two top lieutenants met recently with several San Antonio officials to discuss the potential of moving the NFL team to the Alamo City.

During the weekend of July 18, Davis met with the officials, including Henry Cisneros, then-Mayor Julián Castro, City Manager Sheryl Sculley, Mario Hernandez of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, and both Richard Perez and David McGee, the president and chairman of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, respectively, according to a statement from Sculley tonight.

Full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2014/07/29/oakland-raiders-san-antonio-los-angeles.html

[Bridges]

Find it hard to believe that this is anything other than a power play for LA. 

I saw a lot of Jags fans gloating about this on social media.  If the past (and still sometimes present) is any reminder, these rumors suck for the current NFL city and fans of the team.  I promised I'd never throw moving a team in some fans face ever again. 

[BridgeTroll]

The Oakland Coliseum is truely a D-U-M-P.  The Bay areas other Dump (Candlestick) has been replaced in the South Bay (Santa Clara).  The Raiders have been trying to get a new stadium for decades... Both the A's and Raiders play in very sub standard facilities... screw Oakland.

[pierre]

The company I work for has an office in San Antonio. Everybody I talked to is taking it with a grain of salt as they went through the same thing with New Orleans a decade ago.

Jacksonville went through the same thing with the Colts and a few other franchises.

They are being played.

My guess is the Raiders end up in LA.

[pierre]

Find it hard to believe that this is anything other than a power play for LA. 

I saw a lot of Jags fans gloating about this on social media.  If the past (and still sometimes present) is any reminder, these rumors suck for the current NFL city and fans of the team.  I promised I'd never throw moving a team in some fans face ever again.

The difference though is the Jacksonville rumors were based on nothing. The team plays in a nice facility and has a lease well into the next decade. Oakland plays in a dump and is able to move as they do not have a lease.

[FSBA]

Not sure if this is true or not but I remember hearing Jerry Jones owns the market rights to San Antonio and can block any team moving there.

[duvaldude08]

Not sure if this is true or not but I remember hearing Jerry Jones owns the market rights to San Antonio and can block any team moving there.

Im not sure if he alone could block anything. All owners have to approve a relocation anyways. I dont think in any situation one onwer has that much control.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Find it hard to believe that this is anything other than a power play for LA. 

I saw a lot of Jags fans gloating about this on social media.  If the past (and still sometimes present) is any reminder, these rumors suck for the current NFL city and fans of the team.  I promised I'd never throw moving a team in some fans face ever again.

+1

I still don't believe San Antonio is a serious contender for an NFL team.  Metro San Antonio by itself is not that much bigger than metro Jacksonville and is not a particularly wealthy area, and it's already supporting another pro franchise very strongly.  I don't think it could handle a second. 

San Antonio and Austin combined make more sense as a market, because those two metros together are around 4 million people and only 60-70 miles apart.  But you'd probably have to build a modern, expensive stadium halfway between, in San Marcos or someplace.  The UT stadium is far too big, and the Alamodome is 25 years old and not up to the standards of most NFL stadiums.

And the X factor in all of this is that the Cowboys have such a death grip over most Texans' loyalties that it's hard to imagine a new team in Texas luring that many fans away, even though there's more than enough population to support a third one.

[Bridges]

The Raiders have been trying to get a new stadium for decades... Both the A's and Raiders play in very sub standard facilities... screw Oakland.

The difference though is the Jacksonville rumors were based on nothing. The team plays in a nice facility and has a lease well into the next decade. Oakland plays in a dump and is able to move as they do not have a lease.

Everyone always says there's a difference.  But in the end, one team's fans will be crushed.  Leases can be broken, I assure you.  The threat of moving teams is always present and a weapon that teams can use against their city, state, and fans.

Just caution people to not gloat over others misfortunes. 

[duvaldude08]

It just may be a power a play. How many NFL team used Jax for the same thing? The Houston Oliers were one of many who used us as power play and ended striking a deal with their city at the end. I dont by any means gloat over this, but the Raiders are in a bad situation. Their attendance has been dead last in the league for a very long time now. Reality is how long will the Raiders be able to survive in Oakland? At the this point they are on life support and the city has no money and no answers. Unfortunate for them, relocating may end up being the end result.

[Coolyfett]

Find it hard to believe that this is anything other than a power play for LA. 

I saw a lot of Jags fans gloating about this on social media.  If the past (and still sometimes present) is any reminder, these rumors suck for the current NFL city and fans of the team.  I promised I'd never throw moving a team in some fans face ever again.

The difference though is the Jacksonville rumors were based on nothing. The team plays in a nice facility and has a lease well into the next decade. Oakland plays in a dump and is able to move as they do not have a lease.

nothing n wishful thinking on behalf of national media and sports fans who have it set in their mind Jacksonville is no where and should remain as such.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Then there's all these people asking why the Raiders don't consider Portland, which just strikes me as bizarre.

Is Portland wealthy and populous enough to support another pro franchise?  Absolutely.

But it's obvious Seahawks territory, to the extent it shows interest in the NFL at all; and it has nothing even remotely close to an NFL-size or -grade stadium.  After adding a new NBA arena and MLS stadium in recent years and a protracted battle over a AAA baseball stadium, I can't imagine Portland would have any interest in funding a modern NFL stadium.

[funwithteeth]

The Oakland Coliseum is truely a D-U-M-P.  The Bay areas other Dump (Candlestick) has been replaced in the South Bay (Santa Clara).  The Raiders have been trying to get a new stadium for decades... Both the A's and Raiders play in very sub standard facilities... screw Oakland.

And the Golden State Warriors are moving back to San Francisco in 2018.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Speaking of potential relocations, it sounds like a Buffalo billionaire has made an enormous bid to buy the Bills, possibly as high as $1.3 million.

I've had bad experiences with a fair number of Bills fans, but good for Buffalo if that is true.  I'd hate to see any city lose a franchise to relocation.

[Ocklawaha]

Then there's all these people asking why the Raiders don't consider Portland, which just strikes me as bizarre.

Is Portland wealthy and populous enough to support another pro franchise?  Absolutely.

But it's obvious Seahawks territory, to the extent it shows interest in the NFL at all; and it has nothing even remotely close to an NFL-size or -grade stadium.  After adding a new NBA arena and MLS stadium in recent years and a protracted battle over a AAA baseball stadium, I can't imagine Portland would have any interest in funding a modern NFL stadium.

Portland has had a bad track record of supporting major league football, I think the WFL averaged about 4,000 per game. San Antonio has been in this quest at least as long as Jacksonville. I don't know about Austin, but it would seem to me to be an even better choice due to growth. San Antonio should be great for Futbol however... If they can pull it off, more power to them.

I think we should rename that team 'THE USA RAIDERS' hell just a couple more cities and 'they've been everywhere!'