While it would definitely be awkward, the Oakland Raiders might have one more year left at the Oakland Coliseum, after all.
Jon Becker of The Mercury News reported that “the Raiders will meet with the Coliseum Authority one last time to discuss possibly playing at the Coliseum in 2019 before leaving for Las Vegas.”
“Yes, there still is a possibility that an agreement can be reached,” Scott McKibeen, executive director of the Coliseum Authority said, per Becker. (I’m) not sure what the odds are, but still possible.”
This is a deviation from what we’ve previously heard. The relationship between the Raiders and the City of Oakland has long been tenuous, at best. In December, Oakland filed a breach of contract lawsuit with the Raiders, which seemed to eliminate the possibility of the Raiders playing one more year in their longtime home.
The possibilities of where they might play have come from as close as San Francisco and as far as London. But San Francisco’s Oracle Park is not designed for football. And it’s hard to make sense out of moving to London (or anywhere outside of the Bay Area) when another move would be coming in one year.
Las Vegas could work, but the permanent Las Vegas home won’t be available until 2020. Any temporary home would need significant renovations.
With that in mind, one more year at the Coliseum in Oakland seems like the most practical idea. Obviously, the lawsuit throws a significant wrench in that.
But if the two parties can find a way to work through that awkwardness that for one more season, this feels like the best idea.